KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) yesterday announced a list of highly-respected coaches and mentors for the 2014 competition.Former South African and Australian national team coach Mickey Arthur has signed on to be the head coach of the defending champions Jamaica Tallawahs, while Tim Nielsen, also a former Australian national coach, will take the helm of the Antigua Hawksbills, and Simon Helmot, current coach of the Melbourne Renegades in the Australian Big Bash League, will take charge of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.
IPL and CLT20 winning coach, Robin Singh, of the Mumbai Indians and former England assistant coach, Matthew Maynard, will return for a second year, leading the coaching staff of the Barbados Tridents and the St. Lucia Zouks respectively, while former West Indies head coach Roger Harper returns to see if he can better the second-place finish he led the Guyana Amazon Warriors to last year.
In addition, some of the biggest names in the history of Windies cricket will lend their vast experience to the coaches and players in the CPL by acting as mentors – Sir Viv Richards – Antigua Hawksbills; Courtney Walsh – Jamaica Tallawahs; Desmond Haynes – Barbados Tridents; Gordon Greenidge – Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel; Sir Curtly Ambrose – Guyana Amazon Warriors and Sir Andy Roberts, St Lucia Zouks.
Tom Moody, Director of Cricket, Caribbean Premier League, said: “We’re extremely pleased to have secured such a strong lineup of talented and respected coaches for this year’s tournament. With their technical expertise, along with guidance from our legendary mentors, the standard of cricket this year is set to be higher than ever.”
Antigua Hawksbills coach Tim Nielsen, said:
“I was impressed by the standard of last year’s competition so I’m delighted to be involved in CPL 2014. I’m looking forward to taking the reins of the Hawksbills and I hope together with the rest of the coaching staff, and with the help of Sir Viv who I am very excited about working with, we can take them to the trophy this time around. The Caribbean Premier League is a top level T20 competition and I’m excited to have the chance to coach such talented cricketers in a unique atmosphere.”
CPL recently announced that last year’s iconic franchise players – Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels – would all be returning to their 2013 teams for the new season.
The CPL launched last year to sell-out crowds, with over 250 000 spectators attending matches across Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and St Lucia, while a global TV audience of 36 million was entertained by the skills of international stars including Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Ricky Ponting and Muttiah Muralitharan.
The tournament returns in July and August 2014 where Jamaica Tallawahs will defend their title against the St Lucia Zouks, Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, Antigua Hawksbills, Guyana Amazon Warriors and Barbados Tridents.