Courtney Browne replaces Clive Lloyd as West Indies' chairman of selectors to the bemusement of Darren Sammy
Legendary former West Indian captain Clive Lloyd has been replaced as West Indies’ chairman of selectors by former Caribbean Test wicketkeeper Courtney Browne on June 23, Thursday. The disclosure of the mentioned news evoked responses of "Oh Lord" and “Hmmmmm” from their Twenty-20 International (T20I) captain Darren Sammy.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) announced the change through a statement released on early Friday morning and Browne, who represented West Indies in 46 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 20 Test matches, will officially take over and begin his two-year tenure on September 30. The right-handed wicket-keeper batsman has been a member of the selection panel for almost six years now.
Sammy, the two-time World T20 winning captain, reacted to the news by posting following tweets:
Oh Lord https://t.co/2vJErMYowx
— Darren Sammy (@darrensammy88) June 23, 2016
Hmmmmm https://t.co/UfewnUMD3S
— Darren Sammy (@darrensammy88) June 24, 2016
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The Queenstown-born Lloyd will continue to serve the West Indian cricket and will take the role of a 'special ambassador'. He will be "responsible for being a spokesperson for the Board at special events in and out of the region". As reported by cricket.com.au, Lloyd, who enjoyed a fruitful 19-year long International career for his country, said, "The time as Chairman was quite rewarding and I am hoping my contribution would have added value to the current system.
"I made every attempt to serve with distinction and I was pleased to contribute to the game again. I look forward to the new role. The details of that arrangement will be discussed and will be released shortly."
Browne, who made his Test debut in 1995 against Australia at Kingston, will be working alongside with Lloyd for a short ‘handover period’ before completely acquiring the role.
Lloyd, who played for his nation in 110 Tests and 87 ODIs, celebrated the anniversaries of the World Cup finals wins in 1975 and 1979 this week.
"We are satisfied that Clive’s upcoming role will serve as another great opportunity to promote the best of West Indies Cricket," told WICB president Dave Cameron.
The 71-year-old Llyod held the position since August 2014 and no statements in respect to whether he voluntarily stepped down or has been shown the door are being made from any WICB official. He is currently in Barbados to monitor the proceedings of the final stage of ongoing ODI tri-series featuring the hosts, Australia and South Africa.