Two-time World T20-winning captain and current West Indies white-ball coach Daren Sammy has welcomed his appointment as the coach of the regional Test team, effective April 1, 2025.
The announcement of the Saint Lucian’s appointment was made on Monday by Cricket West Indies (CWI) Director of Cricket Miles Bascombe during CWI’s quarterly press conference in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
After his playing career concluded, Sammy took on split duties with Andre Coley in mid-2023. While Coley’s future with the team is still undecided, Sammy has expressed his readiness and eagerness for the challenge ahead, as he continues to grow into his coaching role.
“Apart from my individual goals, you know, West Indies cricket is something that’s very dear to my heart. I’m not the man I am today without that, without West Indies cricket. So I’ve always been vocal about the things that we could do,” he said.
“It’s my job to make sure I’m prepared and ready. And yes, it has been more ups than downs. But once I understand the mission, I start putting plans in place to fulfill that mission, and that’s what excites me and my team. We are looking forward to taking on this new journey.”
West Indies’ last Test series win was in Zimbabwe in early 2023. The men in maroon drew with Australia earlier this year, but the regional side was also held to a draw by Bangladesh, swept by England, and beaten at home by South Africa and India.
West Indies have won two of their last nine Tests. In contrast, they have won four of their last seven T20I bilateral series, with a 15-12 record under Sammy. They have also won four of seven ODI series, including victories over England and Bangladesh at home in recent weeks, improving their 50-over record to 12-9.
“I believe in processes, something we’ve been able to do in the white-ball format,” said Sammy. “And with this new role, I’ve already mapped out some of the areas and processes we’ll have to follow in order to be successful.
“I’m a patient man, and once I trust that process and understand the requirements from the director of cricket, then the plan gets into action. I’m really excited about the added responsibility and the new journey, and it’s one that I think myself and my team will be prepared for.”
A veteran of 136 One Day Internationals, 68 T20 Internationals, and 38 Test matches, Sammy recorded over 1,300 runs, 80 wickets, and 65 runs in both Tests and ODIs. The Sammy, who turns 41 on Friday, served as West Indies captain for 128 matches across all formats.
Sammy’s contract as white-ball coach runs until the end of 2023. He won the job in May 2023 from a global pool of 20 applicants. At the time, CWI noted that Sammy had only applied for the T20I and ODI teams, with Andre Coley assuming control of the Test team.
Coley’s final assignment, Bascombe disclosed, will be the two-match tour of Pakistan from January 16-28, 2025, which marks the end of the current World Test Championship cycle.
“Post our current World Test Championship campaign, we are going to be expanding Mr. Sammy’s role to encompass all formats. So when we host Australia next summer, Darren Sammy will be the head coach of all senior men’s teams,” Bascombe revealed.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank Andre Coley, who has served well. He still has to complete his World Test Championship campaign in Pakistan, and he will have our full support.
“But again, I want to congratulate Mr. Sammy. We have been quite impressed with the way that he has charted a course for our white-ball teams. He has guided them towards consistency of performance, and that is exactly what we want to see in our Test team,” the director of cricket added.
Phil Simmons, who now coaches Bangladesh, stepped down as all-format coach at the end of 2022. He and Sammy were, respectively, coach and captain of the West Indies teams that won the ICC T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016.
Last week, Sammy’s West Indies swept Simmons’ Bangladesh in their ODI series, with the visitors up 1-0 in the T20I series.
“We didn’t have conversations on how to win, I can tell you that,” admitted Sammy with a laugh. “But I did sit with Phil and congratulate him on his 400th match as a coach.”
“You know, we talked about the memories and the experiences that we had. I mean, as leaders, we shared a World Cup together, so it was a more casual conversation. Phil and I have always had a cordial relationship, and I love to see my people doing well. And, you know, we spoke about if he’s going to stay in the job or not and stuff like that. But apart from that, it was just a normal, casual chat. And we still have two games left to compete against each other, and one that I want to win.”
Bascombe said that an announcement regarding the support staff for the head coach will be forthcoming.
Previously, CWI had stated that a senior talent manager and six territorial talent scouts would be recruited.
