ST GEORGE ‘S, Grenada (CMC) — Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell has hailed the appointment of Rawl Lewis as the new manager of the West Indies senior team.

While Cricket West Indies is yet to make a formal announcement, several media reports have said that Grenadian Lewis, a former West Indies and Windward Islands leg-spinner, has been appointed in the position for the ICC World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe next month.

He replaces legendary former West Indies fast bowler, Joel Garner, who took up the position back in 2016.

“We are pleased with this appointment and on behalf of the government and people of Grenada, we express hearty congratulations to Lewis,” Mitchell said in a statement.

“Lewis has been a symbol of discipline and a hard worker and motivator and we believe he would be a major source of much needed motivation for a battered side which lost the Test series in New Zealand 2-0, the ODI series 3-0 and the T-20 series 2-0.”

The 43-year-old joined Cricket West Indies eight years ago as a project officer in the operations department, tasked with helping to manage the board’s plethora of regional tournaments.

In 2016, he was named as team operations manager of the Windies squad for their successful Twenty20 World Cup campaign.

He has also helped to coordinate the regional umpires exchange programme along with also playing a key role in the preparation of programmes for the West Indies Under-19s.

Mitchell, a keen cricket enthusiast, said Lewis’s competencies made him ideal for the new role.

“All Grenada must be proud of this son of the soil who brings a wealth of playing and administrative experience to the regional set-up,” said the Caribbean leader.

During his international career, Lewis played five Tests and 28 One Day Internationals.