The 15-member West Indies Women (WIW) squad announced to tour Australia from October 1 to 14 is a combination of experience and youth. The six-match series comprises three T20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
The tour will also be the first of the new head WIW coach, Australian Shane Deitz.
The WIW would be banking on the experience of season players, captain Hayley Matthews, Safanie Taylor, and vice-captain Shemaine Campbelle to carry the batting with support from Chinelle Henry, Rashada Williams, and Aaliyah Alleyne.
Henry had a productive series against Ireland in the Caribbean this year, where she was unbeaten in her four innings, two (2) T20s, and two (2) ODIs. She scored two 50s in the ODI matches.
The bowling will fall on fast bowlers Shamilia Connell, Cherry Ann Fraser, Aaliyah Alleyne, Shabika Gajnabi, and Chinelle Henry.
Afy Fletcher, Karishma Ramharack, Hayley Matthews, and Safanie Taylor will form the core of the spin department. Under 19 World Cup players Djenaba Joseph, Zaida James, Ashmini Munisar, and Jannillea Glasgow will use this tour to gain valuable experience on and off the field as they develop their careers.
In a recent interview, coach Deitz announced that his brand of cricket is keeping with the West Indies attacking style tradition of taking the game to the opposition. He is the first coach to openly acknowledge that the WIW is behind the lead pack - Australia, England, India, and South Africa.
He indicated that for the WIW to become competitive, they would need to train hard, train smart, be fit, and take responsibility for their development.
Furthermore, and importantly, he stated these requirements are non-negotiable if players want to be world-class players and athletes. He said players will be treated as adults and not like children.
If he is insistent with his philosophy, it may be a severe culture shock to some players, especially those in national and regional teams, for some time. Introducing the U19 players will allow him to quickly transfer his philosophy as they are new to the system. In other words, they will start with a clean slate and be open to learning as much as possible to be competitive to earn their place.
However, time will tell whether the players embrace and practice his approach. The tour to Australia will allow him to assess the players to determine their strengths and weaknesses, and he can structure a programme to see the desired results.
Beyond the senior level, what is required is the cascading of his philosophy to coaches and players at the territorial levels so that they will all be on the same page. This approach will ease current problems where some players enter national and regional training set-ups with developmental issues.
As such, there is much work to be done to see the WIW challenge the top five and Dietz stated it will take about five years to raise the standard.
For this to happen, CWI and its territorial boards must ensure that they put in place strategic programmes that are geared to not only provide more girls with the opportunity to play cricket but play competitively so thaty they can compete internationally.
The A-team tour to Pakistan after Australia is welcome as it will allow the fringe and younger players to play international cricket and continue to work on their game.
Also, the pending announcements of developmental contracts will enable these players to train and prepare with more significant financial support than in the past. Creating a pool of at least 20 competitive players will also signal that no player is guaranteed selection if they are not performing.
As for the tour of Australia, anyone who follows the women’s game will know that this tour will be challenging, especially as Australia may see the need to redeem its reputation after a highly competitive series against England. They have announced their strongest team save Meg Lanning. Once a team is competitive, low-hanging fruits will be an accomplishment.
