Roger Harper’s term will come to an end on December 31, and the Cricket West Indies is unwilling to extend his contract. The 58-year-old, who has been in the job for just over two years, has overseen 16 Test matches (won five of them), 21 ODIs (won 11) and 39 T20Is (won 14).
Until a replacement is found for Harper, head coach Phil Simmons will be taking charge of the duties across all three formats’ selection and will work alongside the captains Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieron Pollard. He thanked the board for the time he was given and said that he did what was best for the future of the side.
“I would like to thank CWI for the opportunity to serve West Indies cricket in the role of lead selector and I wish the organisation the very best for the future. I would also like to thank all those whose efforts and cooperation helped me to perform my role efficiently,”
Harper told.
The director of the board, Jimmy Adams, has stated that selecting West Indies team is always a very challenging assignment and that Harper has performed his role with transparency and dignity. Miles Bascombe, who has been alongside Harper to assist him in these duties, has also been terminated from his job.
“We want to thank Roger and Miles for their work and dedicated services to West Indies cricket in the last two years, as members of the Men’s Senior Selection Panel.
Selecting West Indies teams for international competition is a very challenging assignment, and both gentlemen performed their roles with transparency and dignity,”
Adams said.
One of the major talking points during Roger Harper’s reign as the selector was his selection of the T20 World Cup team, which did not include former captain Jason Holder despite his brilliant performances in the shortest format.
Their not-so-impressive performances across formats added fuel to the argument for a change in hierarchy, which began with a change in the selection committee.
