Done Deal: Rayon Griffith Announces New Mega Signing After…………………..read more.
Guyanese Rayon Griffith, who acts as the Assistant Coach for the West Indies cricket team with a focus on fielding, has been confirmed in his role for the upcoming tours to Zimbabwe and South Africa.
A press release from Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Wednesday stated that Griffith, who is also the Head Coach of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, will serve as the Assistant Coach for the senior men’s team. Currently, he is the second-in-command to Interim Head Coach Andre Coley during this transitional phase.
Griffith has been part of the management team since 2019.
This announcement comes as the West Indies gear up for their tours to Zimbabwe and South Africa in February and March.
Kenny Benjamin, a former fast bowler for the West Indies and Leewards Islands, will accompany the team to Zimbabwe as the Bowling Coach, taking over from Roddy Estwick.
The complete Team Management Unit heading to Zimbabwe includes Team Manager Rawl Lewis, Physio Denis Byam, Analyst Avenesh Seetaram, and Media Officer Dario Barthley. They will depart for Zimbabwe this weekend.
The team is scheduled to arrive in Zimbabwe early next week for a three-day warm-up match against a local team from January 28 to 30 at the Bulawayo Athletic Club.
Following this, the West Indies will play two Test matches against Zimbabwe at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, with the first Test set for February 4-8 and the second from February 12-16. All matches are slated to begin at 10 AM local time (4 AM Eastern Caribbean/3 AM Jamaica).
In their last Test series against Zimbabwe, which took place at Queens Sports Club in October 2017, the West Indies emerged victorious, winning the two-match series 1-0—claiming the first Test by 117 runs and drawing the second.
After the Test series, the West Indies will travel to South Africa for their final two matches in the current ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, with the West Indies ranked 6th and South Africa 4th. Both teams have the chance to enhance their standings in the final table.
Following the Test matches, the West Indies will face South Africa in three One Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals.
**Test Squad for Zimbabwe Tour**: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Tagnarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Devon Thomas, Jomel Warrican.