Cricket operations manager at the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) Dudnath Ramkessoon says that the decision that the board has taken, concerning the position of head coach of the national team, is that there will be no sole select and hence the position was advertised.
Earlier this week, the position of head coach for the T&T Red Force was advertised as the term of current coach Mervyn Dillon will end on April 30.
Ramkessoon speaking to Guardian Media Sports said: "When we extended coach Dillon's term in November last year, we told him that at the end of the current term which is April 30, we will be advertising for the job and that he is more than welcome to apply. This was written in the conditions so Dillon would have been well aware of the situation from back then."
The former West Indies and national pacer took T&T to its best finish in the Regional Four-Day Tournament since 2014 which Ramkessoon, shared, could work in his favour.
"Dillon took the team to the second position and this would be an advantage for him. Even if he had won the tournament and board decided to advertise his post then that as well would have been a great advantage for him."
Guardain Media Sports has seen the letter dated 22 November 2019 and signed by Dudnath Ramkesson and addressed to Dillon.
The former national cricketer added that he has had many calls from coaches in the past saying that they were not given a fair chance to apply for the job.
"People have come to me in the past and say that they have not been given a fair chance to apply for the position. Just as the Windwards did when they openly sent out an advertisement for the job, we are now doing the same.
"We are doing this out of fairness and transparency and we invite all those who think that they have it in them to coach the national team to advertise for the position."
On March 24, the Barbados Pride was declared winners of the competition, which had been suspended in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, after Cricket West Indies (CWI) decided to scrap the last two rounds in the first-class season altogether. Barbados was on top of the six-team table with 134.8 points, well ahead of Red Force which was second on 94.6 points. T&T ended the competition one place ahead of its third-place finish from 2019.
Ramkeesoon said the TTCB executive will appoint a committee to interview those who are interested and then make recommendations.
Potential applicants will have until April 30 to send in their resume and after this, the board will look at getting them interviewed. Dillon has already indicated that he will be reapplying for his job as he has seen tremendous improvement with the Red Force outfit this season.
The news comes a month after a rift emerged with the head coach and Red Force senior player Denesh Ramdin. The feud started with Ramdin going public saying that Dillon did not want him on the T&T team. The wicketkeeper was dropped from the Red Force team for the Leeward Islands Hurricanes clash after the team's massive loss to Barbados, where scored a ‘pair’ of ducks. Dillon responded by saying he was not getting the required commitment from the West Indies player. The issue went before the board and was subsequently dealt with as both men resolved the matter.