On November 26th, ICC called off its world cup qualifiers games because of the rising pandemic. West Indies were top of the table in their Group winning their only match against Ireland before the matches were called off and the tournament canceled. However, the selection for the world cup was on the basis of the team’s Ranking so West Indies has officially qualified for the World Cup. West Indies has been in good form in the past 2 years and one of the biggest reasons for their recent success is the appointment of coach Courtney Walsh.
Courtney Walsh has been the head coach for the team since 2020. He took over this role during a very difficult period in West Indies women’s cricket. West Indies had just lost 5-0 to England and also lost their four previous series as well. In comes coach Walsh and turns it around for the West Indies women’s team. The team is fitter and much more improved. They went on to win 2 out of 3 series they played. The players themselves believe that his appointment has played a major role in the team’s success.
West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthew who had a phenomenal year in 2021 said “I think it’s been fantastic, just looking at the structure. Our entire camps and training session have been going really well. He’s brought in some fantastic coaches to work with us, you have Corey Collymore as a fast bowling coach, you have Ryan Austin as our spin coach, Steve Liburd for the fielding and the wicketkeeping and then Robert Samuels has been working with us for batting as well. So, I think there’s a really good balance at the moment,” Matthews told the Mason and Guest radio show.
Coach Walsh with introducing good infrastructure has changed the West Indies Women’s cricket team into a much stronger team. When the tournament was called he was very worried regarding how they would keep the players focused on the world cup with quarantine and the break between matches.
“That’s going to be a big challenge,” Walsh told the Antigua Observer. However, that was in December 2021.
Now he is pleased to see how the players have performed in the medical and fitness camp.
West Indies is now preparing to play a 4 match ODI series against South Africa before heading on for the world cup.
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