By Anthony Foster, Freelance WriterTHE SEARCH for an assistant coach to the senior West Indies team is on, with reports coming out of the eastern Caribbean claiming Kenny Benjamin is the frontrunner for the post, ahead of the tours to Zimbabwe and South Africa later this year.
According to a report on CaribbeanCricket.com, at the request of head coach Gus Logie, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) endorsed the appointment of Benjamin to accompany the senior team on the upcoming tours as part of a specific plan to offer specialist coaching to the young crop of fast bowlers.
Logie confirmed his request, "I was asked my opinion on a few individuals, and I gave them three individuals (names). They made a decision and I concur," Logie told The Gleaner in a telephone interview from his Trinidad home yesterday.
However, Logie, who was recently appointed head coach of the regional side, said he would not disclose the three individuals he recommended for the post but admitted Benjamin was one of the three.
Benjamin, 36, who is an accredited level 2 coach, picked up 92 wickets in his 26 Test matches between 1992 and 1998. The Antiguan also has a very good record in first-class cricket, playing for the Leeward Islands, Worcestershire, the West Indies and South African sides Gauteng and Easterns; picking up 403 wickets in 108 matches.
As to who get the job, Logie said, "I am not aware of any appointment as yet."
Advertised as technical assistant coach, this person will report to the coach of the West Indies team and will be expected to travel with the team to all camps and matches as a member of the management team.
The report on the website also said WICB chief executive Roger Brathwaite has been directed by the WICB directors to poll team captain Brian Lara and manager Ricky Skerritt to ensure Benjamin's 'suitability' for the post, one well-placed source told Caribbean-Cricket.com. The board is expected to make a formal announcement this weekend.
However, Brathwaite in a telephone interview with The Gleaner, dispelled anything to do with the report, "I cannot make any comments regarding anything appearing on CaribbeanCricket.com, we have certainly made no announcement," he said.
Brathwaite promised the announcement would be "at the appropriate time when discussions had been concluded."
The West Indies will play two Tests and five one-day internationals (ODIs)in Zimbabwe between October and November and four Tests and give in South Africa immediately after.
