Scorpions bracing for possible Coley exit
THE JAMAICA Scorpions franchise are putting contingency plans in place if Cricket West Indies head coach Phil Simmons summons Andre Coley for regional duties.
The Sunday Gleaner has learnt that Simmons is keen on bringing Coley back on the West Indies senior team’s coaching staff to work as an assistant.
The pair had worked together when Simmons took over the West Indies team in 2015 and 2016.
Coley, who also coached the Windward Islands Volcanoes, had recently taken up the post as the senior team’s coach for the Jamaica Scorpions franchise and is currently in St Kitts and Nevis with the team battling in the Regional Super50 Cup.
The Sunday Gleaner reached out to Jamaica Scorpions CEO Courtney Francis about the possibility of losing Coley to the West Indies set-up.
“It’s simple, we would just have to find someone else, we would have to start over but what this would also do, if it comes through, is to create an opportunity for other people within our coaching ranks and we would just have to move on,” said Francis.
MUTUAL ARRANGEMENT
Francis says he will be having a meeting with Cricket West Indies officials next week and he has highlighted that he will be having a discussion to see if a mutual arrangement can be worked out if indeed Coley is asked to work with the West Indies team.
“What we may see happening is that, Coley could still work with us as head coach of the Scorpions, because he wouldn’t be on West Indies duties for the whole year. When he is free, we would want him to still work with our players and coaches here, so that is also a scenario that could manifest,” added Francis.
Francis mentioned that the franchise could mull over the idea of having two assistant coaches to look after the team, while Coley is away on international duties.
The Scorpions are also in the final stages of hiring a full-time assistant coach and that process is expected to take place in the coming weeks.
We have been informed that almost all of the Level 3 coaches in Jamaica, including David Bernard Jr, Terrance Cork, Gibbs Williams and Robert Turner, have applied for the post.
“We will be making the announcement of our new assistant coach pretty soon, what we are doing right now is waiting on Coley to come back to Jamaica to be a part of that process. We may very well have a situation that we could have two assistant coaches to work with the team in Coley’s (potential) absence,” added Francis.
Following the Super50 Cup, which will culminate in the first week of December, the Scorpions are expected to go straight into preparations for the Regional Four Day Championship, which is scheduled to begin on the first weekend in January 2020.