Reifer to prepare Young Windies for Caribbean World Cup
ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Cricket West Indies yesterday appointed former West Indies captain, Floyd Reifer, as the Under-19 head coach, tasked with the responsibility of preparing the youth side for the ICC Under-19 World Cup, scheduled next year for the Caribbean.
The 48-year-old, who oversaw West Indies’ ill-fated campaign at the 2019 World Cup, replaces Englishman Graeme West who has led the Under-19s in recent years, including their successful title quest five years ago in Bangladesh.
Director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, said Reifer’s track record off developing young cricketers made him an asset to the new position.
“I am happy that we have been able to appoint Floyd to lead our Under-19 programme and take the lads through to the World Cup early next year,” said Adams, himself a former West Indies captain.
“The opportunity fits perfectly given his remit as our High Performance Head Coach, a role in which he has successfully overseen our High Performance squads in the recent past, including Emerging Players and ‘A’ teams.
“I would also like to thank Graeme West who coached the U19 team in the last three campaigns, including winning the Tournament in 2016.
“Graeme will continue to be involved in his current role as High Performance Manager. He will provide valuable support for Floyd in the planning and execution of the programme all the way through to the World Cup next year.”
Reifer has previously enjoyed success in developmental coaching roles with West Indies A, Combined Campuses and Colleges and West Indies Emerging Players, the latter of whom he guided to the capture of last season’s Super50 Cup.
He enjoyed no such fortune with the senior Windies side, however, as they won just two of their nine matches in their worst-ever outing at a World Cup.
Reifer, the batting coach on last July’s Test tour of England, said there were already “solid plans” in place to kickstart the preparations of the Under-19 squad.