The appointment of Daren Sammy as head coach will not result in any immediate success for the regional side according to legendary West Indies fast bowler, Sir Andy Roberts.
Sammy’s elevation to the top job in Tests, adding to his current positions as ODI and T20I head coach, was announced by CWI Director of Cricket Miles Bascombe during CWI’s quarterly press conference held last Monday in St. Vincent.
The St. Lucian will take up the role, currently held by Andre Coley, effective April 1. 2025.
The former West Indies captain’s promotion came on the heels of impressive results, where he led the T20 team to victories in 20 of their 35 matches, while the ODI side won 15 of its 28 matches during his 18 months in charge.
Roberts, however, believes there first needs to be a change in mindset by the players if the West Indies was to return to its glory days.
“Daren Sammy is one that is loved by Cricket West Indies and especially in this administration. I don’t see any coach, any coach making a difference until the players can buy into the concept of what made West Indies cricket great in the past,” Roberts said on Trinidadian radio station i95.5FM on Thursday.
“Hard work, commitment, the love for the game, rethink your game because you cannot allow coaches to be thinking for you because that seems to be the norm in West Indies cricket. Everything that a coach tells them, they seem to think that it is gospel. You have to work things out for yourself because what is good for me may not be good for you, so you have to know what is good for yourself and you have to be able to analyze your game on the day, because every day you wake up you won’t feel the same,” he added.
Roberts, who took 202 wickets in 42 Tests, blasted the fact that West Indies cricket was still being run the same way despite being rooted to the bottom of the Test rankings for decades.
“If you check West Indies cricket, during the years that we have been in the doldrums and today we’re still in the doldrums, but our methods stay the same as it was 15, 20 years ago and it is not a method that is associated with West Indies’ greatness,” Sir Andy maintained.
“We are living in the past as far as Australia, England, India and all of them. They are teaching us how to play cricket now and we were the ones that they were following. Now we’re the followers.”