West Indies appoint legendary Joel Garner as team manager
Dec 31, 2018 at 1:56 PM
On Saturday (16th July) Caribbean cricket great Joel Garner, was named as the team manager of West Indies, penning a three-year deal with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). He certainly brings a wealth of management and cricketing experience to the job.
Garner previously worked as the manager of the team in 2009-10 during the ICC World Twenty20 in West Indies, also having worked with the ‘A’ team.
“I always answer the call in West Indies cricket,” he said. “It is always an honour to serve in any capacity in West Indies cricket and I’m pleased to be back with the team as manager to share my knowledge and experience to the team and be an ambassador for West Indies cricket and the region.”
He has been president of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) for the last three terms and contested the post of the WICB presidency in 2013.
Garner has been a director on the board for the WICB and during the period has sat on venue development and cricket committees.
Hailed as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, he played 58 Test matches and 98 One-Day Internationals between 1977 and 1987.
He took 259 Test wickets at an average of 20.97 each and 146 wickets in ODIs at an average of 18.84 and economy rate of 3.09 per over. He was a World Cup hero in 1979 as West Indies beat England at Lords to win the prestigious title for the second time.
His first assignment happens to be the four-Test series against India starting on July 21 in Antigua.
West Indies will face some serious challenge from India as adapting to spin in home conditions will not be too different from those in India, it will be key for a young side that is looking to build on their gains in Australia.