West Indies bowling great Andy Roberts has taken exception to the appointment of South African bowling coach Alfonso Thomas, branding the move as a show of ‘contempt’ towards former players.
Thomas was appointed to the post last week on the heels of the dismissal of former Barbadian bowling coach Roddy Estwick. Estwick had previously replaced another bowling legend Curtly Ambrose in the post, but upon his dismissal Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Dave Cameron indicated that the new coach would be from abroad.
Roberts, who took 202 Test wickets for the West Indies, seems to be of the opinion that CWI had plenty of former regional players to choose from, with the team once known for its fearsome fast bowling.
“The hurtful part is that our nation dominated Test cricket for 15 consecutive years (1980 to 1995 when West Indies did not lose a single Test series) and this decision [of selecting a South African bowling coach with no Test experience] shows that there is some contempt towards West Indies players by the Board,” former WI fast bowler Joel Garner was quoted as saying.
”Nothing about West Indies’ cricket administration surprises me anymore – it’s only the players’ performance on the field,” Garner said.
