New West Indies white-ball coach Daren Sammy has a vision of creating an elite performing team.
“My mission is to create an elite performing West Indies team,” Sammy told the media during a virtual meeting on Saturday.
“We first have to understand where we are at as a team. Clearly, there are some things an elite performing team is doing. So, I am looking at building a West Indies elite 11, not in terms of personnel but in terms of roles,” Sammy explained.
He said they needed to identify what the best teams in the world are doing in different positions and understand where the West Indies are and then start strategizing and planning to bridge the gap.
Asked about the immediate task of the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, Sammy said preparations are key.
“I think we have to emphasize on our preparations. Being prepared gives you the best chance of performing if you know where you are going, how you want to play, the opposition, we have all of that at our disposal,” said Sammy.
“Strategy and planning are crucial and me as a motivator is also crucial in building confidence and inspiring belief in the plans we have. Once you are dealing with an organization, you have to fit in everything to make it work and speaking with the two captains, Shai and Powell, we all share the same vision,” he added.
Asked if he had conversations with Hope ahead of the qualifiers, Sammy they revolved around the identity of the team and the cricket want to play.
He said they spoke about “the basic stuff about the identity of our game and what identity we want to give to our cricket.”
“From speaking to him (Hope) and getting to know him more, I understand his mindset and one of the things we are quite clear on is having this positive mindset around in the dressing rooms and making sure role definitions and clear and with that comes accountability,” Sammy continued.
“It gives you that sense of where we are heading and we both want to take on the game. Once you identify what it takes to be an elite team and matching that with the personnel that can go out and execute those roles,” he added.
“I’ve found that we are quite like-minded in how we want to take this game forward. The leadership group is strong and with a clear understanding of what is needed and what we are required to do, we are headed in the right direction,” Sammy concluded.