‘Unfinished business’ - Former Windies coach Pybus breaks silence after dismissal

Former West Indies interim coach Richard Pybus has said that he had the building blocks put in place to develop the current West Indies team into a world-­beating unit once again had he been able to carry on.

In April, new Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Ricky Skerritt appointed Floyd Reifer as the Windies’ new interim head coach, replacing Pybus as part of a series of administrative changes.

Skerritt said that changes were necessary at the time and that a “calculated strategic move” was needed to reignite the passion for cricket in the region.

However, Pybus, who led the senior side to their impressive home Test series victory over England earlier in the year, told The Gleaner from his home base in South Africa that he had the right environment and commitment from the senior West Indies players and that it was only a matter of time before the hard work would have borne consistent fruit.

“Of all the sides I have coached around the world, this group was fantastic. We had a very good understanding as a collective group. The attitude was right, and we had a mutual respect and belief as to what we wanted to achieve as a whole, and this team was ready to start winning,” said Pybus in his first interview since his separation with CWI.

The 55-year-old, who has also held the role of director of cricket and high-performance, said that one of the first things he did when he stepped into the role was to surround himself with some of the best available ­coaching talents.

“We had some really good guys in our back-room staff, guys such as Vasbert Drakes, Mushtaq Ahmed, Toby Radford, and Esuan Crandon. All these guys did an excellent job. The players responded to them well as most of them are well known around the region,” Pybus shared.

Pybus, who in January filled the coaching vacancy left by Australian Stuart Law, said that some signs started to work well with the team and praised the structure and support put in place by the previous administration, led by Dave Cameron.

“Dave Cameron and I set out to formulate a long-term plan, whereby we wanted to lift regional cricket from a semi-professional set-up to a fully professional one, whereby players understand what it takes to play international cricket and can perform consistently once they get to that level. A number of players had committed to the philosophy and wanted to play for the West Indies, and we were on the right track for long-term continued success,” said Pybus.

The English-born coach, who also had stints with Pakistan and Bangladesh, said that he received positive feedback from persons throughout the region and even around the world for the new way in which the Windies were playing under his leadership.

“I have had persons tell me that they loved the way the team played in that England series with passion and aggression. That is the philosophy that we wanted across the board, and yes, I am disappointed that I was not able to carry on, but that is the nature of a democratic process, and these things do happen,” he said.

The West Indies showed plenty of promise under Pybus, beating England 2-1 in a Test series and sharing the ODIs 2-2 to lift confidence ahead of the Cricket World Cup, before he was replaced by Reifer.

Pybus did not want to weigh in too much on the team’s recent poor showing against India; however, he lamented that it was going to take a lot of work to get the team back to its winning ways.

“Winning is a methodology that requires doing a lot of homework and preparation. The team has to have the right professional attitude, and the coaches have to find a way to let the team stay positive. It is a team that wins, and not any one individual, so it’s going to take a collective effort – quality planning coupled with superb execution,” said Pybus.

The Windies have won just four matches and have lost 16 games with two no-results in 22 matches across all formats since March of this year. Those four victories have come against Ireland (twice), Pakistan and Afghanistan.