[UPDATED] Daren Sammy to take over as Windies Test coach in April

WEST INDIES white-ball coach Daren Sammy has been given a new portfolio by Cricket West Indies (CWI), as the St Lucian will take over the reins of the Test team from April 1, 2025, replacing current Test coach Andre Coley.

The announcement was made by CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe at the CWI's quarterly press conference in St Vincent on Monday. The decision to appoint Sammy as Test captain was agreed upon by the CWI board of directors in a meeting in St Vincent on Sunday.

Bascombe commended the work Sammy has done with the West Indies' white-ball teams. And while the contract of the former International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty/20 World Cup captain was coming to an end at year's end, Bascombe said the opportunity was there to give Sammy his rewards and allow him to transfer his responsibility to a different environment.

"The contract of the current red-ball coach (Coley) will end ahead of the next series in the upcoming World Test Championship cycle. Daren's current contract ends at the end of this month, so in the process of renegotiating Daren's renewal, we definitely saw the opportunity – given the success he has had with the white-ball teams – to try to extend that to the Test team for the upcoming World Test Championship cycle," Bascombe said.

"I want to congratulate Mr Sammy. We have been quite impressed with the way he has charted a course for our white-ball teams, and he's guided them toward consistency of performance, and that's exactly what we want to see in our Test team."

Bascombe said Coley served well in his time at the helm and noted the board's decision didn't reflect on the latter's ability as a coach.

"I mentioned Andre Coley is a competent coach. This decision is no way about his competence necessarily. This is about the opportunity we have, given what Daren has been able to do with the white-ball teams," Bascombe said.

"It's the same player pool, the same staff and he has shown us he basically...he was able to implement a process and move us into a direction we want to go. It's about capturing that opportunity and having him do that across all formats."

In an immediate response, Sammy said, "It's always an honour to represent West Indies in any format or any position. For me, this news it's not something I was expecting. Coaching is never something I saw myself doing. I must admit, the way that it's been going, I've developed a much stronger passion and a love for the job."

In the midst of a three-match T20 series versus Bangladesh, Sammy said he's already putting plans in place for the Test team he's set to inherit in a few months.

"I believe in processes, something we've been able to do in the white-ball format. With this new role, I've already mapped out some of the areas and some of the processes we'll have to follow in order for us to be successful," Sammy said.

"I'm a patient man. Once I trust that process and understand the requirements from the director of cricket, then the plan gets into action."

After being assigned the role of interim coach in December 2022, Coley was appointed as the coach of the Windies' Test and 'A' teams in May 2023, with Sammy being simultaneously appointed as coach of the One-day International (ODI) and T20 teams.

From his first Test in charge against Zimbabwe last February to the recent 1-1 draw with Bangladesh, the West Indies managed three Test wins (Zimbabwe, Australia and Bangladesh), to go along with nine losses and three draws under Coley's watch.

Coley's final series in charge of the Test squad will be the two-match series away to Pakistan next month.

Since taking charge of the white-ball teams, Sammy has coached the team to a 15-13 record in the ODI format, to go along with a 20-14 record in the T20 format through 35 matches.

Thus far, Sammy's tenure has included 3-2 T20 series wins over both India and England in 2023, as well as a pair of 3-0 T20 series wins over South Africa earlier this year.

Sammy's charges won all four matches in the group stage of the 2024 International Cricket Council T20 World Cup, before suffering losses to England and South Africa as they made a Super Eight exit on home soil.

This story has been updated to include additional details. See the original story below.

WEST INDIES white-ball coach Daren Sammy has been given a new portfolio by Cricket West Indies (CWI), as the St Lucian will take over the reins of the Test team from April 1, 2025, replacing current Test coach Andre Coley.

The announcement was made by CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe at the CWI's quarterly press conference in St Vincent on December 16.

In an immediate response, Sammy said, "It's an honour to represent the West Indies in any capacity....for me, this news is not something I was expecting. Coaching was never something I saw myself doing but, I must admit, the way it's been going, I've developed a much stronger passion and a love for the job."

The former West Indies skipper said he's ready for the challenge to help the Test team.

Coley was appointed as the coach of the Windies' Test and 'A' teams in May 2023, with Sammy being simultaneously appointed as coach of the One-day International (ODI) and Twenty/20 teams.

With the Windies currently engaged in a T20 series versus Bangladesh, Coley's final series in charge of the Test squad will be the two-match series away to Pakistan next month.

"When we host Australia next summer, Daren Sammy will be the head coach of all senior men's teams," Bascombe said. "We have been quite impressed with the way that he has charted a course for our white ball teams and he has guided them towards consistency of performance and that is exactly what we want to see in our Test team."

Since taking charge of the white-ball teams, Sammy has coached the team to a 15-13 record in the ODI format, to go along with a 20-14 record in the T20 format through 35 matches.

Thus far, Sammy's tenure has included 3-2 T20 series wins over both India and England in 2023, as well as a pair of 3-0 T20 series wins over South Africa earlier this year.

Sammy's charges won all four matches in the group stage of the 2024 International Cricket Council T20 World Cup, before suffering losses to England and South Africa as they made a Super Eight exit on home soil.