BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – John Dyson has unfinished business with West Indies which he intends to complete before considering another coaching position in internationalcricket.
Nearly two weeks ago, media reports in Britain emerged that the West Indies coach was linked to the vacant England job.
“If West Indies want me, I’ll stay here in West Indies,” he said. “I am more than happy to stay in West Indies. The job has not been done yet.
Dyson was contracted to the post of West Indies coach two years ago to replace fellow Australian Bennett King.
Under his guidance, West Indies have been transformed into a more competitive outfit, winning three Tests, losing five, and drawing seven, and have climbed one notch up the World Test rankings table to seventh.
But West Indies have only won eight One-day Internationals and lost 17 of the 20 they have contested under him and remain in the eighth position in the World ODI rankings table.
“I came here and I have started a job, and I have not completed that job as far as I am concerned,” he said.
“I think we have made some wonderful progress, so I am happy to stay in West Indies.”
Dyson was philosophical about his side’s nine-wicket defeat under the Duckworth-Lewis Method in the fourth ODI on Sunday at Kensington Oval.
A two-hour long rain delay left England with the modest target of 135 from 20 overs and they got them with nine ball to spare, after West Indies had recovered to reach 239 for nine from their allocation of 50 overs.
“I am not too disappointed by the result,” he said. “It would have been nice to play a full 50 overs-a-side match in which we did well to recover in our innings to get the total with which we ended up.
He added: “Once the rain hit, it either had to stay awhile or it was going to be a problem. To chase that score, if you bat sensibly, you should get them.”
Dyson was full of praise for West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, whose 69 from 72 balls revived West Indies after they declined to 145 for six.
Bravo has returned to the side for the limited-overs matches of the series against England, after he spent six months on the sidelines, following an ankle operation.
“It’s always exciting to watch Dwayne bat when he’s in form,” he said. “He’s an excellent cricketer. He’s an entertaining cricketer.
“We have seen since his return, his bowling is back to where it used to be, and we saw him bat extremely well in this match. I thought he was under a bit of pressure because we lost some wickets in the middle of the innings and he batted extremely well.”
He continued: “We are still monitoring his ankle because it is a serious injury, so I think in terms of his overall ankle fitness, it still has got some distance to go, but we are very pleased that it has not caused any major problems after matches.”
The defeat means that West Indies have to win the fifth and final match on Friday at the Beausejour Cricket Ground in St. Lucia to take the series.
But the match is under threat from a strike by the West Indies players to protest outstanding issues with the West Indies Cricket Board.
“I have got no idea where things are and as far as I am concerned, the match is going ahead on Friday,” he said. “We have a series to win.
“The situation since a meeting to which I was invited as an observer is that there have been multiple meetings since that I have not attended.
“I have not heard a thing. As far as I am concerned, we are going to St. Lucia to play cricket for the series at the end of the week.
“I do not know what talks have gone ahead so I can’t tell you about it because I just don’t know.”
