Cricket West Indies (CWI) President Kishore Shallow has voiced concern over the recent performances of West Indies women, admitting the side has fallen below expectations in their latest international outings.
West Indies Women have just gone through a disappointing white-ball home series against Sri Lanka. They lost the ODI series 2-1 and the T20I series 2-0. This has raised some eyebrows about their form and readiness for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which is just a few months away.
In an interview, Shallow admitted that this is a worrying situation and confirmed that this matter had already been discussed with CWI Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe. “I will definitely admit that there are concerns,” Shallow said. He noted that apart from a few standout performances, the team struggled to match Sri Lanka’s consistency throughout the series.
One of the bright spots was captain Hayley Matthews, who scored an impressive century in the final ODI. Young batter Jannillea Glasgow also impressed with consecutive half-centuries, showing promise for the future. However, Shallow admitted that overall performances with both bat and ball were not at the level expected from the regional side.
“A team that not too long ago was ranked below us in Sri Lanka beating us at home fairly convincingly was not an encouraging sign at all,” he said.
Shallow stressed that the team management must quickly identify the underlying issues affecting performances, especially with a major global tournament approaching. He emphasized that improvement needs to come sooner rather than later.
The CWI president also expressed surprise that more attention had not been directed toward head coach Shane Deitz amid the team’s struggles. With only a few months remaining on Deitz’s contract, Shallow indicated that discussions about the coach’s future with the team would likely take place soon.
“I’m surprised that Shane Deitz is not getting more attention,” Shallow remarked, adding that he expects ongoing conversations between Deitz and the Director of Cricket.
Meanwhile, the West Indies Women face another significant challenge as they prepare to host the world’s top-ranked side, the Australia women’s national cricket team, in an upcoming white-ball series. The first T20I is scheduled to take place at Arnos Vale Stadium.
While acknowledging the difficulty of facing the reigning powerhouse of women’s cricket, Shallow said he hopes to see a stronger fight from the regional team.
“Australia is the number one team in the world but at least we have world-class players,” he said if they perform at their best, they can compete and hopefully win.
With the World Cup drawing closer, the upcoming series could prove to be an important test for the West Indies Women as they look to regain momentum and restore confidence within the squad.
(Quotes sourced from Kishore Shallow’s interview with iSports i95.5 FM)
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