KING
AUCKLAND (CMC):
EVEN WITH the three-man committee due to submit its review of his technical staff's work in the past year, today to West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) President Ken Gordon, Bennett King refutes suggestions that it is an unwelcome distraction at the start of the New Zealand tour. "It's not for me. I think the timing of the review is very good," the Australian-born head coach said yesterday at the end of a training session at Eden Park.
"We've been there for a year, and it's actually something that you would expect in normal workplaces. I felt the process was normal. I guess it seemed a bit sinister because of the way it came out in the media, but in all reality we actually welcome the review and hopefully we'll be doing more as our time moves forward."
LEAKS
King implied that it is the manner in which information is apparently leaked to the media that creates issues where none really exist.
"It's probably one of the things that happens in the West Indies quite a bit, where things get into the media that probably shouldn't be there," he stated.
"It just seems to be the way it is. I guess we'll eventually move forward when we make sure that those sorts of things that keep working as a distraction or are working to put wedges in the WICB stop."
"I just don't feel you can keep travelling down that particular road and expect to move forward. I believe we should all be working together: the players, the coaching staff, the secretariat, the board and the sponsors."
SAME PATH
"We should all be moving along the same path, and those sorts of things that come out in the press, I don't think it has to keep on being that way."
Far from sitting around waiting for the verdict of the committee comprising Jackie Hendriks, Deryck Murray and Enoch Lewis, King and his colleagues have been pushing ahead with their programme since the squad arrived in New Zealand last Friday.
"It's all systems go, mate. We've had some really good work here," he countered.
"We had a meeting last night (Monday night) with the captain and the vice-captain, and it was really informative. The players have taken it upon themselves to make some changes that we have been trying to put forward since we've been around."
King is encouraged by the overall attitude of the players here.
"The penny seems to have dropped now because the players want to do a lot more. One of things they've said is they want more work, so we've got to keep up the level we've been doing physically," he revealed.
"We had actually reduced that workload because their standards had improved. That is the really pleasing aspect so far. The players want some more meetings, they want to put more time into their work and it's really put a smile on our faces."
Yet, for all those encouraging signs, the head coach is only too aware that results are all that matter in the end.
"We believe we have been working hard. Behind the scenes people probably don't see a lot that goes on," King explained.
