Courtney Walsh as new head coach of West Indies Women

Fast bowling great Courtney Walsh has been appointed as the new head coach of West Indies Women, replacing Jamaican Andre Coley who presided over the recent five-match Twenty20 International series against England.

The 57-year-old legend is a former Bangladesh bowling coach, served as assistant coach for West Indies Women during their Twenty20 World Cup campaign in Australia earlier this year but did not feature as part of the management staff on the recent England tour.

Walsh said he expected the transition to be in ease especially since he had worked with the Caribbean side in the recent past.

“This is indeed an honour to be named as the new head coach. It’s an exciting challenge and I’ve always wanted to give back in any way I can and help with the development of the game in the West Indies,” Walsh said yesterday.

“The experience I have, my knowledge of the game, and my overall organisational skills will be key aspects as we try to develop a winning team culture.

“I worked with the team at the Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year in Australia and in the series against India in the Caribbean last year, so I have a very good understanding of what is required.

“The ability and the talent are there, we have some fantastic players in the West Indies, and it will be my duty and focus to help the women to develop their talents and achieve the goals we are going to be setting together.”

Former West Indies batsman and men’s head coach, Gus Logie, was appointed interim head coach last October and led the Stafanie Taylor-captained unit to the T20 World Cup.

Cricket West Indies’ director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, backed Walsh – a former Jamaica and West Indies teammate – in adding value to the women’s programme.

“I am delighted to have Courtney leading our international women’s programme having successfully come through CWI’s recruitment process,” said Adams.

“He will be overseeing the programme initially until the end of the next two ICC Women’s World Cups in 2022 and he will be pivotal in working with CWI’s High Performance Team to move our whole women’s programme forward, as part of our wider strategic plan which has Women’s cricket as a key priority.”

Walsh is the highest wicket-taker in West Indies Test history with 519 scalps in 132 matches, and is also a former senior team selector and Under-19 manager.

A former Jamaica and West Indies captain, he took 227 wickets in ODIs and 1807 wickets in 429 first-class matches. The 57-year-old is a member of the ICC Hall of Fame.