Roland Butcher - Sportsmax

Cricket West Indies confirms organizational changes

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has confirmed several organisational changes at the start of a significant year, that will see the launch of a new four-year strategic plan (2024-27) and the hosting of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in June.

Johnny Grave, Chief Executive Officer of CWI, stated, “As an organization, we are dedicated to nurturing a culture of continuous evolution and improvement. We are steadfast in our pursuit to maximize our human capital, engage the best talent, and foster an environment where excellence thrives throughout the entire system.”

Grave also revealed that “We have concluded a thorough appraisal process, resulting in the realignment of responsibilities of some of our team members. As part of this process, while some contracts have reached a natural conclusion, including those of Dominic Warne, Commercial, Marketing and Communications Director, and Philip Spooner, Media and Public Relations Manager; both individuals will continue supporting us in the extremely important year ahead, in new roles working directly on the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in June. We appreciate their contributions and dedication to our organization and remain committed to their involvement in this significant period.”

One of the components being assessed as part of the new cricket strategy is the selection system. CWI will further explore the strengthening of this area, building on the established policy from the 2019 selection review.

Miles Bascombe, Director of Cricket at CWI, emphasized the importance of this review, stating, "We are dedicated to refining our selection processes to better serve the needs of West Indies cricket. The ongoing evaluation and restructuring efforts are integral steps toward achieving this goal."

Bascombe elaborated that the review has resulted in some immediate changes in structure and personnel. “The review has been planned to coincide with the end of the contracts of some selectors to enable a seamless transition. CWI expresses its gratitude to Roland Butcher, Travis Dowlin, and Robert Haynes, whose tenures ended on 31 December 2023. Their dedication has been laudable, and CWI acknowledges their significant role with gratitude.”

CWI has taken the decision not to immediately replace these selectors until the completion of the review process. The remaining Lead Selectors shall continue to serve under their existing contracts with CWI.

Bascombe further added, “Coach Development Manager, Chris Brabazon, has also left the organisation to take up a new role back home in Australia. We are grateful for the tremendous contribution that Chris has made over the past 4 years, which has seen the introduction of a comprehensive range of coaching courses and accreditations, resulting in over 1,000 newly certified coaches in the region.”

CWI reaffirms its commitment to fostering an environment of continuous improvement and transparency within its operations. The recruitment process for a new Commercial Director and Coach Development Manager will begin imminently.

In order to retain T20 World Cup - Windies may need someone to fill Samuels shoes

The mercurial Samuels played a key role on both occasions the team won the title, managing to put together innings that balanced an abundance of caution at the crease, with scoring aggression when needed.

In 2012, Samuels average a solid 38.33, with a strike rate of 132 en route to the team’s triumph but more importantly top-scored in the final, with 78 from 56 deliveries, giving the West Indies a comfortable win over Sri Lanka.

In 2016, it was Carlos Brathwaite that got the accolades in a thrilling, brutal final-over onslaught in the final against England but it was Samuels who once again top-scored at the other end, his 85 from 66 balls proving just as crucial in the team’s title triumph. For that tournament, Samuels averaged 36.20 with a strike rate of 112.42.

“West Indies will play their brand of cricket, which is all guns blazing, but let us remember in those two World Cups that they won there was a certain Marlon Samuels who was the glue,” Butcher told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“Among all of those stars there was someone who could hold the team together and, when needed, up the scoring rate. What they need to do is to find someone to play that role and play it successfully,” he added.

Among the candidate to do so for the upcoming tournament will be Roston Chase whose performance during the recently concluded CPL saw him force himself into the thoughts of the selectors. For the finalists, St Lucia Kings this season, Chase averaged an impressive 49.55, with a strike rate of 144.33.

“The question will be whether Roston Chase can perform that role to that level on the international stage. This is the international level with the best teams, it’s not the CPL. Marlon Samuels proved, not just on those two occasions, that when things were tough, he was the go-to man.”

Matthews hails Barbados Royals Girls Cricket Club as significant platform for women's cricket

“I think it is huge. It is something that we definitely needed in Barbados for a long time now,” Matthews said.

The club was launched this past weekend at the Passage Road Playing Field in St Michael, and big names in attendance included Matthews, former England captain Mike Gatting, West Indies Women’s T20 World Cup winner Stacey-Ann King, and West Indies selector Roland Butcher, the first black man to play for international cricket England.

Barbados Royals Girls Cricket Club will seek to provide mentorship and resources to 100 young ladies as they seek to foster their cricket development.

“I honestly think it’s something that has been needed for a very long time and that’s why I’m so happy to see it come to fruition. Hopefully we can see this thing really take off and present girls with a lot more opportunities,” said the 25-year-old Matthews, currently ranked as the World No.1 all-rounder in Women’s T20 cricket.

“I think that to be able to give young girls from age six and up the opportunity to be able to come out here and fall in love with the game of cricket is a great first step in Barbados and hopefully we can (more) see stuff like this moving forward,” she added.

Roland Butcher appointed as new selector to the West Indies Men's Teams

Butcher is a former England batsman who also played for over 15 years in English County Cricket with Middlesex. His appointment was confirmed during a meeting of the CWI Board of Directors on Monday 19 December.

Butcher was delighted to accept the appointment,

“It is a great honour and a privilege, to be given the opportunity to serve West Indies Cricket. I’m eager to get started to work alongside the other members of the selection panels as we look to ensure the growth and improvement in West Indies cricket at all levels.”

The West Indies Men’s Senior Panel is led by the Most Honorable Dr. Desmond Haynes and the Men’s Youth Panel is led by Robert Haynes. The third member of both panels is the respective Head Coach.

Butcher was the first Black cricketer to represent England in Test cricket when he debuted against West Indies in his native Barbados in 1981. He played three Tests and three One-Day Internationals. In his first-class career he played 277 matches and scored over 12,000 runs.

Roland Butcher’s contract as West Indies selector not renewed

Cricket West Indies, in a letter dated December 12, 2023, informed Butcher of the decision to not renew his contract as a selector.

Butcher, who was born in Barbados and played three Test matches and three ODIs for England from 1980-81, was appointed to the panel in December 2022.

T20 cricket could burden Holder unnecessarily' - former Test batsman would not advocate recall for WI captain

Former England batsman Roland Butcher does not believe West Indies Test cricket captain Jason Holder should be recalled to the T20 squad, despite several recent creditable performances in the format.

The all-rounder last represented the regional team in the shortest format of the game in India last year. Since the resumption of cricket, however, the player has put in a few notable T20 performances. In the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Holder was the Barbados Tridents' third-highest scorer with 192 runs in 10 matches and had a high score of 69. He also made an impact with the ball after claiming 10 wickets, the second-most on the team.

Despite not being initially drafted to the Indian Premier League (IPL), Holder was called up to replace Mitchell Marsh by Sunrisers Hyderabad. In three matches he has managed to claim six wickets so far. Albeit being currently just outside of the playoff spots, the Sunrisers are still in contention with a handful of games to go. The player has, however, not been included in the T20 squad to face New Zealand next month, which Butcher insists is the right call, at this point in time.

“I think Jason, based on his performance in the CPL, could have come in for some consideration, but again, I wouldn’t want to burden Jason, with all the different disciplines he has to play already,” Butcher told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“He’s doing well as Test captain. He’s an integral part of the 50-over side as a player. Why would you want to go and force T20 on him at this point in time? He’s one of our player’s that’s performing so why would we want to overload him so that he doesn’t perform.”