Coley: ‘My job is not finished yet’

Andre Coley says that while the two-match Test series in Pakistan will be his last as head coach of the West Indies Test team, that is not his main focus.

Cricket West Indies has announced that Daren Sammy, the country’s white-ball head coach, will replace Coley following the completion of the Pakistan series.

It will bring an end to a challenging tenure for Coley, who failed to win a single Test series during his 20 months in charge. Coley was appointed in May 2023.

When asked how he felt about it being his last series in charge, Coley said, “I believe that right now at this juncture, I’m not necessarily focusing on that. What is most important is the series is in front of us, Pakistan.”

“When the Test Championship is finished, then I’ll have more time to actually reflect on what is happening because the tenure hasn’t ended yet.
“There’s still work to be done against Pakistan, and I’ll continue to give the players the level of confidence that they need going into this series, so that’s not really my focus at the moment.
“I’m not reflecting on what is gone so much as it relates to my tenure. When the series is done, I’ll have a look at that, and we go forward from there,” Coley added.

Coley wants to see the regional team improve their 2024 performances when they take on Pakistan in a two-match Test series later this month.
It will be the West Indies’ first tour of Pakistan in 18 years. The home side won that three-match Test series 2-0 in 2006.

The visitors will play a three-day warm-up match on Jan. 10, with the first Test scheduled to begin on Jan. 16 in Karachi.
Coley said ahead of the Test series, “A new series, a new opportunity. We haven’t played a Test match or a Test series in Pakistan for a few years, so we’re all looking forward to it and the challenges it will pose.

“Creating history, there’s always an opportunity once you play a series or a match; there’s an opportunity in itself. The focus shouldn’t be on creating history; it’s about using the learning from 2024 and that consistency that we have been searching for over the past 12 months, being more consistent on how we want to play the game and the brand of cricket that we want to play,” Coley said.

He said the team was preparing for whatever conditions they encountered in Pakistan.