Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Windies legend Desmond Haynes named new chief selector | Desmond Haynes names new chief selector of West Indies
Former West Indies batting great Desmond Haynes was appointed the new chief selector of the West Indies Cricket team, replacing Roger Harper, removed from the post. Haynes, a veteran of 116 Tests for the West Indies, will be at the helm till 2024 and will oversee two T20 World Cups & a 50-over World Cup in the period.
The 65-year-old recently sat down for an interview with Betway to discuss his new role as a lead selector of the Men’s cricket team and the challenges that lie ahead in his next cricketing journey. Haynes, who had previously served in a similar capacity for Barbados Cricket in the late ’90s, says that he felt it was the time to give back to West Indies cricket, so he accepted the position.
The former opener believes that the knowledge of the game is a crucial ingredient to being successful as a chief selector. Haynes added that his essential task would be to identify the talent and get inputs from the coach co-selector to select the best team available to win a game of cricket. When asked about how he will deal with identifying the correct players for specific roles in the team, Desmond Haynes said he would look at the players’ commitment & character towards the team and his ability to use his talents to win games for the country.
Haynes, though he admitted that statistics play a significant role behind selecting a team, once again stressed the importance of selecting a player based on their character and kept a stance that he will be staying away from the coaching staff as he believes his role is to pick the best players in West Indies cricket. He further added that he would partly be responsible for the team’s performance on the field, whether good or bad. He highlighted that selecting a team is done by looking at a long-term objective. It will be essential to give the selected players a fair amount of time before deciding their replacement as he believes competition will bring the best out of the team.
Haynes felt that rotation of players, especially the pacers, would be necessary for this hectic cricketing calendar ahead when the new chief selector was asked to comment on the busy schedule. He also admitted that the players’ mental well-being will be essential but was hopeful that stringent bio-bubble rules will slowly relax, giving the player a much-needed breather to move around freely.
Haynes said he wants more players to be vying for a spot and the need to know how to balance between franchise cricket and playing for the country. This includes the leagues worldwide, barring the IPL, which has a specific window. While he welcomes the motives behind the cricketers choosing to play more leagues to have financial stability, Haynes believes it is also vital for them to grow as a player, developing themselves and gaining as much knowledge as he can. And that is why he says they need to strike the right balance.
The former swashbuckling opener feels that more and more multi-format players should come from West Indies cricket. He concluded by saying West Indies has talent but less than countries like India & Australia and believes that ICC will need to spend more money in countries with fewer resources to make cricket competitive globally.
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