Former West Indies captain Richie Richardson has been appointed manager of the embattled regional team.
Richardson, 49, who recently took up the post on a two-year contract with the West Indies team, will begin his duties on the three-match One-day International tour of Sri Lanka later this month.
Richardson, a member of the champion West Indies team of the 1980s, led the regional side in 24 of his 86 tests and 87 of his 224 One-day internationals, in a career that spanned 13 years.
He replaces Joel Garner, the Barbados Cricket Association president and West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) director, who served as West Indies team manager since the tour of Australia in the late 2009.
“I feel tremendously to be once again asked to serve West Indies cricket. I believe that it is crucial for me to lend support to redevelop the sport in the region,” Richardson said.
Richardson’s first real test will be the Cricket World Cup, which bowls off in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from Feb. 19 to March 2.
West Indies team, which won the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979, have not been major contenders in the tournament since reaching the final and losing to India in 1983.
WICB Chief Executive Officer Ernest Hilaire said the Antiguan would be an asset to the West Indies team.
Richardson amassed 5,949 runs at an average of 44.39 in tests, along with 16 centuries, while garnering 6,248 runs in one-day internationals at an average of 33.41 with five centuries, before quitting international cricket.
