Former West Indies selector Roland Butcher is disappointed with the ‘disrespectful’ manner in which his contract was not renewed by Cricket West Indies (CWI).
Butcher was informed by CWI in a letter dated December 12, 2023 that his time as a member of the selection panel, led by The Most Honourable Desmond Haynes, would be coming to an end. The 70-year-old Barbadian served as a selector for the West Indies Senior Men’s and Youth panels for a year after being appointed on December 23, 2022.
“I was very surprised and shocked at my contract not being renewed. There was never any indication leading up that that was going to happen. Nobody spoke to me, nobody wrote to me and I was not appraised to say I was doing a bad job,” he told NationSport.
“We had a busy year picking the teams for all of the West Indies “A” tours as well as for the senior team for the Zimbabwe, South Africa, India as well as the England series. It was a pretty busy year travelling the length and breadth of the Caribbean watching cricket and results suggested we were not doing a bad job. This side that is in Australia now (that beat Australia for the first time in 27 years), we picked that as well. So you could imagine my shock and dismay when I received that letter. It was disrespectful and hurtful receiving an impersonal letter like that as someone in my position.”
The West Indies senior team enjoyed one of their better calendar years in recent memory, winning the T20 series against higher ranked South Africa, India and defending world champions England. They won a Test series versus Zimbabwe and a One Day International (ODI) series with United Arab Emirates. The ODI series against South Africa ended in a draw.
However, the two-time world champions failed to qualify for the 13th edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup which was held in India last year, suffering defeats to Scotland, Netherlands and Sri Lanka in the qualifying stage.
When asked if he would be open to pursuing similar roles in the future, the former England International believes he can still make valuable contributions at the international level. “I still believe I have a tremendous amount to offer cricket. If the West Indies don’t want me to make that contribution to them and somebody else does, then I would join them. I feel that with my knowledge, expertise and experience of success, I have a lot to offer any system, whether it is home or away. I’m a professional, so if West Indies wanted me back as a selector then I would rejoin, but if anyone else did, then I would join them as well,” he said.
His CV will be enhanced by the selection of Shamar Joseph, the Caribbean’s latest fast bowling superstar.
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