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—Simmons will take temporary charge of selection responsibilities
(CRICINFO) Roger Harper’s two-year term as West Indies’ chairman of selectors will be coming to an end on December 31 with the board unwilling to renew his contract. Having taken up the job in late 2019, the teams that Harper selected won five out of 16 Tests, 11 out of 21 ODIs and 14 out of 39 T20Is.
Selection became a hot-button topic for West Indies at the recently concluded T20 World Cup, where Jason Holder was not among the original 15-man squad to take part in the tournament. The former captain’s performances in the IPL – 16 wickets at an economy rate of 7.75 – only added to the scrutiny.
Named as a reserve player, Holder was eventually brought into the squad after they lost their first two games of the tournament where West Indies went in as defending champions and went out with just one win. Chris Gayle was at the centre of another controversy around selection when he went after Curty Ambrose for suggesting he wasn’t an automatic pick in the West Indies team anymore.
CWI will begin looking for a new lead selector in January. Until then, head coach Phil Simmons will take temporary charge of those responsibilities, along with the team’s captains in the various formats. That’s Kraigg Brathwaite for Test cricket and Kieron Pollard for limited-overs assignments. Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket, will oversee the process.
“I would like to thank CWI for the opportunity to serve West Indies cricket in the role of lead selector and I wish the organisation the very best for the future,” Harper said. “I would also like to thank all those whose efforts and cooperation helped me to perform my role efficiently.”
Miles Bascombe, who served with Harper, has also been terminated.
“We want to thank Roger and Miles for their work and dedicated services to West Indies cricket in the last two years, as members of the Men’s Senior Selection Panel,” Adams said. “Selecting West Indies teams for international competition is a very challenging assignment, and both gentlemen performed their roles with transparency and dignity.”
