BENNETT KING told the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) yesterday he was no longer interested in the job of coach for which he had applied, been accepted and publicly, but prematurely, appointed.
The 39-year-old Australian would have been the West Indies' first foreign coach, succeeding former West Indies Test player, Roger Harper, who quit at the end of his three-year contract after last month's World Cup.
Bennett's decision, announced from Melbourne by his employer, the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), was another one of the several incidents that have embarrassed the WICB in the past two weeks.
It came a day after deposed captain Carl Hooper, reportedly disenchanted with his replacement by Brian Lara, chose to withdraw from the squad for tomorrow's first Test against Australia in Georgetown to which he had already been chosen.
The likelihood is that Gus Logie, the WICBĘs previous youth coach who was named as King's deputy at the original announcement last week, will now be promoted.
As it is, the 42-year-old former West Indies batsman, is already in charge for the imminent home series against Australia and Sri Lanka since King would have been unable to take up his assignment until July 1 in any case.
The ACB said in its statement that King, presently head of the Australian Academy in Adelaide, wanted to stay with Australian cricket.
"He was keen to remain involved with Australian player development, planned to continue his contract with the Cricket Academy and had advised the WICB and the ACB of his thinking this week," the ACB said.
Given the background, there was certainly more to it than that.
King, a cricketer of only club standard who first made his reputation as coach to the successful Queensland state team, didn't hide his dissatisfaction at the way the WICB handled the issue. He and the WICB subsequently issued a joint, clear-the-air statement in which King was quoted as saying he remained excited by the prospect of taking on the job.
But, in the end, he could not overcome his doubts.
"I'm certainly no fait accompli," he told the Australian media at the time. "I haven't received anything in any way, shape or form as to what my terms and conditions might be."
He also hinted that the ACB was keen to keep him, stating that it "wants to talk to me about my future as well".
He charged that issues such as support staff, administration and technology had not been addressed by the WICB.
"That needs to be sorted and I'm not sure they're prepared for that," he said. "I spoke to them by phone about my disappointment regarding some of the processes and another couple of issues that are a little more personal and that may come to light later."
They appeared to be the concerns of his wife and three school-aged children.
"Any adventure is initially exciting, particularly with up and moving, but I know there will be a lot of trepidation down the track," he added. "
There's a lot of angst, and nervousness bordering on fear."
King, who had a four-week stint at the Shell Cricket Academy of St George's University two years ago and was also coach of the Australia "A" team that toured South Africa last year, landed the WICB coaching job ahead of more than 60 applicants.