Logie confirmed new national team coach

Port of Spain (Trinidad), Aug 9 (IANS/CMC) Former West Indies batsman Gus Logie said he was thrilled to again be involved with the game in Trinidad and Tobago.

The T&T Cricket Board Friday confirmed that the 53-year-old Logie has been appointed the new coach of the national team, reports CMC.

"Like everything else, I'm pleased with the opportunity to be involved in T&T cricket, and the opportunity to work with so many talented young players, and to hopefully see their progress to the West Indies team," Logie told the T&T Newsday newspaper.

"It feels good, on home soil, it's where I started I must admit. I was involved at the youth level, with the first Academy intake. It's like I've come full circle."

Logie has been in the post for the last month and has been working with T&T players not involved with the Caribbean Premier League.

"Having seen guys graduate and play for the national and West Indies teams, makes you feel good," said Logie. "It's an opportunity again being afforded to me and I'm certainly going to grab it with both hands.

"You bring to the table your own discipline, commitment, sense of responsibility and work ethic, so you're entrusting that so those in your charge can look up to that and try to emulate that as much as possible. Apart from that, you bring your own knowledge and integrity to proceedings."

Logie played 52 Tests, scoring 2,470 runs at an average of 35.79, as well as 158 One-Day Internationals, scoring 2,809 runs at 28.95 as a member of the star-studded West Indies team from 1981-1993.

Following his retirement from first-class cricket 21 years ago, he has been heavily involved in coaching, including a stint as the West Indies coach, when he mentored Brian Lara's side to winning the ICC Champions Trophy a decade ago. He has also coached in Canada, Bermuda and Jamaica.

--IANS/CMC

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