Benjamin Appointed Hurricanes’ New Coach

Former national and West Indies fast bowler, Winston Benjamin has warned that there is no magic potion for the ills plaguing cricket at the sub-regional level.
His statement comes on the heels of his appointment as head coach of the Leeward Islands Hurricanes by the Leeward Islands Cricket Development Company on Monday.
Benjamin, a level-3 coach, said that although his aim is to improve the team’s overall standard of play, instant success should not be expected.
“You are going to have to get the players to buy into your programme.  Because once they buy into your programme, then things will run smoothly and there are certain things that you might want to change, but it’s not going to be anything wholesale. Things are not going to happen overnight, it’s going to be a process, it’s going to take some time and there is no guarantee for instant success,” he said.
“Being a past player and knowing the difficulties we face I think I have a rough idea of exactly how I’d like to go about doing things,” he added. 
The former player who takes up his appointment on September 1, said some changes can be expected both on and off the pitch to include the possible inclusion of new faces in the squad.
“Once I would have seen what is there — because I don’t have a list of all the players — but I am sure you’d want to look and see what’s available so it’s a possibility,” Benjamin said.
The Antiguan is “however“ not daunted by the heavy task ahead, revealing that it has always been his ambition to coach the team he once played for.
“Well, it’s an honour and something I’ve always wanted to do and fortunately for me, it has arrived, so I am looking forward to it. I know it is going to be a tough task but I am looking forward to it,” he said.
Having played 21 tests and 85 One Day Internationals, Benjamin captured 61 Tests and 100 ODI wickets at averages of 27.01 and 30.79 respectively.
Benjamin’s most recent assignments are as Coach of the Leeward Islands Hurricanes Under-17 team and the Under-19 team where he is currently performing duties.