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 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.