SYDNEY, CMC:
AUSTRALIAN CRICKET Academy head coach Bennett King has turned down an offer to coach the West Indies, the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) announced yesterday.
King spent the last few days discussing a possible move to the Caribbean with his family, but decided instead to remain in his ACA job.
He said: "It wasn't a decision I came to lightly. I decided (that) at this point in time, I'm going to learn much more from the Australian way."
He said he had thought long and hard before rejecting the West Indies offer.
"It's a high profile job and one with a very high profile side. I can't think of too many higher coaching positions than the West Indies.
"But I did my research and I don't make decisions with my eyes closed."
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) announced King as their new coach last week "subject to completion of contractual negotiations".
They hoped he would agree to take over in July, with Gus Logie taking charge for home series against Australia and Sri Lanka in the intervening period.
But King always insisted, "no terms and conditions had been spoken about or offered".
King and his wife have three children, who are all settled in schools in
Brisbane, where he previously worked as coach of the Queensland state side.
Roger Harper was the previous full-time coach of the West Indies team but his contract expired following the World Cup and he was not offered an extension.
