After weekend in Cayman, Adams is new WICB Director of Cricket

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 13 December 2016

Jimmy Adams answers questions at Cayman Cricket's awards dinner on 10 Dec.

Former West Indies middle order batsman and captain Jimmy Adams, fresh off a trip to the Cayman Islands, has been named as the new director of cricket with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

Adams, who averaged 41.26 runs in his 54-match Test career, was widely expected to fill the head coaching position left vacant by the dismissal of Phil Simmons in September. However, the Trinidad Guardian broke the news Tuesday, 13 December, that the Jamaican will take over from Englishman Richard Pybus as Director of Cricket, while Australian Stuart Law will be the new head coach.

The guest of honour at Cayman Cricket’s annual awards dinner on Saturday, 10 December, fielded questions from members of the cricketing community at a gathering that included Sports Minister Osbourne Bodden.

He was asked if he thinks West Indies can rise to being a world power in Test cricket once again, given the apparent shorter attention span of the younger generation and the desire for quick satisfaction like T20 cricket brings.

“I genuinely think it is possible,” Adams said. “There are other countries who have youth who are exposed to the same issues and are producing good Test cricketers. So, if it works somewhere else, I don’t see why it can’t work in the Caribbean.”

Jimmy Adams talks cricket during a Q&A session with Cayman Cricket VP Hector Robinson.

The former cricketer said it is a very simple equation. “I believe that in the Caribbean, we have the gold in the ground, we have the raw material.”

He said his assessment was due to having worked in the region and seeing young cricketers developing their game. “We still have gold in the ground and as long as we have gold in the ground, there is always hope. Whether we can develop that over time is another issue but if we didn’t have gold in the ground, I’d walk away and say it’s not worth it.”

The 48 year-old, who coached English county side Kent for five seasons until October 2016, said the test is finding a way to “polish and refine that gold” to see West Indies cricket rise again.

“That is the challenge but I’d rather have that challenge than being in a place where I’m saying ‘we don’t have gold in the ground. Let’s walk away and find something else to do.’”

When asked about if he would be taking up the coaching job as widely speculated, Adams laughed and said that was a decision for someone else to make.

It’s understood Adams had indicated his interest to the WICB to fill either the Director of Cricket or the Head Coach position. Per the Guardian, the decision to fill the two important positions was taken over the weekend as WICB executives met in St Maarten.

L-R: Cayman Cricket President Abali Hoilett, Jimmy Adams, Sports Minister Osbourne Bodden, Asst. Chief Officer – Sports: Joel Francis; Dep. Governor Franz Manderson, NCB Cayman Managing Director Phillip Harrison.

Adams previously served as manager of the West Indies Under-19 side in 2006. In 2008, he took over from Barry Richards as president of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations. Later that year, he was appointed technical director of the cricket development programme in Jamaica.

Meantime, Law will have his first test as head coach when England visits the Caribbean in February for three One Day Internationals.

As of midday on 13 December, no formal announcement was been made by the WICB about either appointment.