St John's [Antigua], March 15 (ANI): Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Wednesday announced that the role of head coach for the West Indies senior men's teams will be split into separate red- and white-ball coaches.

"Recruitment for both Head Coach roles will start immediately for a Red Ball Head Coach for Test and 'A' Team cricket, as well as a White Ball Head Coach for One-Day Internationals (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) cricket," CWI release read.

"After recently completing an independent review of our 2022 ICC World Cup performance, which included a closer look at the roles of the current Head Coach position, we believe it is now necessary to split the role and engage separate coaches for red and white ball formats. The increased frequency of back-to-back multi-format tours combined with the specific demands of the respective formats no longer provides enough time for one individual to adequately plan, prepare and review across bilateral series and franchise itineraries that are so condensed," Jimmy Adams, CWI's Director of Cricket said in an official statement.

"Separating the roles will also provide the Head Coaches with more time to oversee players' ongoing development away from tours directly, and through increased engagement and planning with suitable high-performance programmes and coaches," Adams added.

According to Adams, the decision to separate the head coach roles was made with reference to the recommendation by the independent three-member World Cup Review Group to consider splitting coaching duties as one factor to help improve team preparation.

The World Cup Review Group was appointed by CWI to conduct a comprehensive review of the West Indies Men's team's early exit from at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia last year. The Group was chaired by Justice Patrick Thompson Jr., a High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, and included Brian Lara, the West Indies batting legend, along with former South African, Pakistan, and Sri Lankan international coach, Mickey Arthur.

The position of West Indies Men's Head Coach became vacant when Phil Simmons resigned following the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup, and subsequently relinquished the post following the end of the West Indies tour of Australia last December. Andre Coley is the current Interim Head Coach for the recent Test series in Zimbabwe and the current multi-format tour of South Africa. Recruitments for both Head Coach positions are expected to commence shortly. (ANI)