BARBADOS - cricket

Roland Butcher

Butcher: Well Done! - Wednesday 01, December-2004 by PHILIP SPOONER

The move by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to appoint a foreign coach has been met with approval by a man whose application for the job was once rejected.

Roland Butcher, the former England batsman who was born in Barbados, yesterday lauded the board for the bold move, as he responded to questions on the appointment of Australian Bennett King as coach.

“It’s a very bold move and the WICB should be applauded,” he said at the 3Ws Oval yesterday during the second day of the Windies three-week camp. “These guys (King and staff), given the opportunity, they will do a good job for West Indies cricket.

“At the end of the day, you have to give them a chance,” said Butcher, who became the first Black man to play cricket for England when he made his debut at Kensington in 1981.

“They clearly have a lot to offer and have been doing a lot of work so far. It’s been rather basic work over the first two days, but as the weeks go by they will get into full swing.”

Butcher returned to Barbados last month to take over as director of sports at the UWI’s Cave Hill Campus. He had a long career in England with the Middlesex county side and also worked as a talent scout for English football giants Arsenal.

He applied for the job of West Indies coach four years ago, but was not given the post after being shortlisted. Butcher has been responsible for making sure the activities around the camp run smoothly.

Yesterday, members of the media were cautioned on how far they could go. Reporters, camera crews and some spectators were informed by security personnel they were restrictions in place by the new coach, who was quite within order to advise that no one was allowed to encroach too close to the outfield.

There were check-ups for fast bowlers, Corey Collymore, Tino Best and Fidel Edwards, who are on the injured list. The two arrived just at 10 a.m., accompanied by Jacqui King-Mowatt, the physio of the Barbados team.

Edwards and Best, who are not expected back in the middle until next year, were taken through various flexing exercises by Stephen Partridge, the new physio of the West Indies side.

Yesterday, Collymore, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Deighton Butler and Devon Smith joined the camp.

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