Mervyn Dillon

The 45-year-old former fast bowler took charge of the twin-island republic team in January of last year and has done a commendable job to date.  After taking over a faltering Red Force team in the 2019 edition of the West Indies Championship, Dillon, led the team to a fourth-place finish with a record of three wins, one draw and two losses.

In the following Regional Super50 competition the Red Force went as far as the semi-finals but were defeated by the Leeward Island Hurricanes.  In this season’s edition of the West Indies Four-Day Championship, the Red Force finished second to champions Barbados Pride.  His spell in charge has, however, not been without controversy with Windies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin of throwing him out of the team and not using proper channels of communication, which hurt the team.  Ramdin officially filed a complaint with the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) but was told the matter could not be looked into until the end of the season.

With Dillon’s contract coming to an end at the end of this month, the position has been advertised.  The coach, while insisting that he was not aware the post had been tendered, is confident he will be seen as the right man for the job.

“I am quite confident. I think I am probably in a better position than anybody else to retain the job,” Dillon told Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.

“Funny enough I heard about it after one of the (media) guys called me (on Thursday) morning. That’s when I found out about it, which was kind of disappointing because even if it is being advertised I would think I would be one of the first people to be notified,” he added.

Dillon said the president of the TTCB Azim Bassarath told him on Thursday that he was previously informed that the position would be advertised, he does not, however, recall that conversation.

Under Dillon, in the WICB Regional Four Day competition, the Red Force finished one place above the previous season’s third-place finish, with the coach promising to do better in the next campaign. 

At the end of 2019, Red Force stormed into the semi-finals of the 50-Over tournament with seven wins in eight matches in Group B.  They, however, lost in the semi-finals by four wickets to the Leeward Islands Hurricanes.

According to reports, the TTCB has indicated that due to the impact of the pandemic they would have been unable to pay Dillon.  The coach’s position had, however, been advertised in April, despite his insistence that he was keen on returning to the post.  A spat with out of favor West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin had also surfaced during Dillon’s tenure.  Ramdin officially filed a complaint with the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) but was told the matter could not be looked into until the end of the season.

"Given what he achieved in the truncated 2020 season in lifting Trinidad and Tobago Red Force to a second-place finish in the campaign, the absence of Mervyn Dillon will be a loss to the twin-island republic as they get ready for the new season,” Mohammed told T&T’s 7pmnews.

“It must be feeling as a slight to Dillon himself, whatever the reasons for him being replaced.  We understand that it could be purely financial, and one appreciates the challenges in these difficult times for sports generally,” he added.

"It would certainly help if the administration headed by Azim Bassarath would be very forthright and very transparent in explaining the circumstances in which Mervyn Dillon is going to be replaced as coach of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force.”