ST JOHN’S – West Indies have been able to persuade Desmond Haynes, one of their legends, to become a batting consultant for the current side. The West Indies Cricket Board announced on Monday that Haynes will work with Darren Sammy’s side for the duration of the home series against Pakistan and India before it undertakes a search for a long-term batting coach. Haynes’ arrival comes on the heels of a disappointing World Cup, following which coach Ottis Gibson placed heavy blame on the senior batsmen in particular, and made an urgent request for such expertise to be brought on board. “I have always said I wanted to be involved in West Indies cricket, and help in any way I could,” said Haynes in a WICB media release announcing his appointment.
“This is a chance to help the young players with their development. I just want to see the players get better as we aim for improvement at all levels in West Indies cricket and get the team back to the halcyon days.” Haynes’ appointment is timely, since there are several unproven batsmen in the line-up to face Pakistan in the opening exchanges of a home series during the next week.
This follows the omissions of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, and Ramnaresh Sarwan for the inaugural Twenty20 against the Pakistanis on Thursday at the Beausejour Cricket Ground in St. Lucia, as well as the first two One-day Internationals at the same venue. Haynes was part of the team’s brief training camp at the West Indies High Performance Centre last week in Barbados before travelling with the side to St. Lucia. “I am happy to be part of the team management unit, headed by Ottis Gibson, and I believe I can also help the players with the mental aspect of their game and the way they go about their cricket in general,” he said.
