BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has made two senior appointments to the West Indies Team Operations Unit. Anthony Howard has been appointed as Manager and Bennett King as Head Coach. Sir Garfield Sobers has also been contracted as Technical Consultant to the West Indies team. In making the announcement Roger Brathwaite, Chief Executive Officer of the WICB, said the two appointments are the first to be made within the revised structure of the West Indies Team which was approved by the directors of the Board at its meeting in Antigua earlier this month. Brathwaite said further appointments would be announced shortly. Howard, 58, a former Barbados and West Indies off spinner, was appointed interim manager of the West Indies team following the resignation of Ricky Skerritt in March 2004. Howard had previously been manager of the Barbados team since 1998 during which time the team won five regional titles including both the four-day and one-day tournaments. Apart from his success in cricket management, he has had a distinguished career in business. Prior to his West Indies team duties, he held the post of General Manager of Courts flagship store in Bridgetown, Barbados and Head of the Commercial Division of Courts (Barbados) Ltd. He holds a Diploma in Management from the Centre for Management Development, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados. The West Indies Team Manager said his experiences so far had been challenging but rewarding. "I enjoy working with this squad of young players and the future looks very promising. The nurturing of young people has been almost a vocation for me and this appointment is one which will give me an opportunity to help create a culture of excellence that will make the region proud," he added King, 39, also has a successful record. He comes directly from his position as head of the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy in Australia, the leading institution of its kind in the cricket world. He joined the Academy after guiding the Australian state team Queensland to three consecutive championships from 1999/2000 to 2001/2002. King is on a three-year contract. The new West Indies Head Coach said he was very excited about the prospect of working with such a talented bunch of cricketers. "I have always said that the raw talent which the West Indies possesses is equal to any country in the world and I look forward to this assignment not least because it gives me a chance to aid in the development of players at all levels. I feel confident that at the international level, the West Indies will be once again a force to be reckoned with in both forms of the game," King said Sir Garry, 68, the greatest cricketer that ever played the game, will, among other things, work with specific individuals, as identified by the Head Coach, for technical and tactical improvement. He will also assist with coaching and tactical strategies in collaboration with the coach. Sir Garry said West Indies cricket has been the main focus of his life for more than 50 years. "Working with the team in an official capacity for the first time will give me another opportunity to give back to West Indies cricket a part of what it has given me over the years. I hope that whatever contribution I make will assist in making this team a well-rounded championship unit and I would like to thank the West Indies Cricket Board for affording me this opportunity," he added. Brathwaite said the new team structure would see the Team Manager as a full time employee of the WICB with overall responsibility for the West Indies team. He would travel with the team while it is on tour as is traditional. "He has responsibility for all administrative matters relating to the team unit and is the point of contact with the Secretariat for whatever services the team might need," he added. The Head Coach, the CEO said, would have responsibility for all cricketing matters and his primary role would be to prepare the West Indies team for international competitions. He will also be involved in all areas of coaching and development of the game in the region in conjunction with the WICB's Development Unit. "He will be a member of the selection panel with a casting vote and will be responsible for the selection of the final XI as well as determining strategies for the game. It follows therefore that he will be accountable for the performance of the team and will be judged accordingly in relation to his contract," the CEO stressed. "The WICB, in putting these and other plans in place to strengthen the management and support of the team is striving to build on the recent success at the ICC Champions Trophy and place West Indies back in a dominant position in World cricket," Brathwaite said. SOURCE: WINDIESCRICKET.COM