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Two Australians, Dav Whatmore and John Dyson, are among the candidates to take over as head coach of the West Indies team, according to a report on caribbeancricket.com.

Insiders suggest that Whatmore, who coached Sri Lanka to the World Cup in 1996 before stints with Lancashire and Bangladesh, is the favourite. He recently unsuccessfully applied for the post of Pakistan coach. Dyson also has experience with a national side, replacing Whatmore as Sri Lanka coach in 2003 before standing down in 2005.

Of local candidates, former Zimbabwe and current Ireland coach Phil Simmons is believed to have applied, as have former KwaZulu-Natal coach Eldine Baptiste, incumbent assistant coaches David Williams and Hendy Springer, Durham’s fast bower and temporary England bowling coach Ottis Gibson, former Bermuda coach Mark Harper and Vincentian Ian Allen.

The main question facing the West Indies board is whether to gamble on appointing a foreign coach following the problems that increasingly dogged Bennett King, the Australian who coached the side until he stood down after the World Cup. There remains a strong sentiment in the Caribbean that King’s replacement should come from within the region.

It had been hinted that Roger Harper would apply, but he has not and is instead being linked with the post of coaching director at the West Indies Academy. Harper was Kenya’s coach between January 2006 and this month, but he stood down as he wanted to be closer to his family in Guyana.

Source:Cricket News