West Indies Women’s head coach Shane Deitz is brimming with cautious optimism as he views the inaugural bilateral white-ball series against Bangladesh as an opportunity to reset after a challenging tour of India and build momentum for the months ahead.

The series, scheduled from January 19 to 31 at Warner Park in St. Kitts, includes three CG United One-Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals.

For Deitz, this series represents the beginning of a critical chapter for West Indies women’s cricket, with a focus on rebuilding confidence, refining combinations, and fostering a winning mentality.

“Well, obviously we had a tough tour to India, so we’ve got to bounce back, particularly in ODI cricket. First up, we want to make sure our batters get off to a good start, get some good runs on the board, and our bowlers work better with the new ball. In both power plays—batting and bowling—we struggled in India, so that’s a big area we want to focus on,” Deitz said.

“So, we’re starting a phase of about eight or nine months that’s going to be pretty full-on. It’s an exciting time for the girls, and we’re looking forward to a successful 2025,” he declared.

According to Deitz, the fixtures will also serve as a testing ground for player combinations and strategies as the West Indies zone in on the ODI World Cup qualifiers later this year with hopes of progressing to the next global showpiece.

“It’s a crucial series to get some combinations going. A few players are playing for positions too, so we need them to put their hand up. We want to see players perform in pressure situations. That’s what’s going to be required when we go to the qualifiers, which will be a tough tournament,” he explained.

Deitz highlighted the potential of rising talents like Cherry-Ann Fraser, who has honed her skills in Tasmania over the past few months.

“I’m looking forward to seeing her with the ball, getting some wickets and penetration early. Other players like Zaida James, Jannillea Glasgow, and Shabika Gajnabi also have opportunities to step up and put their names forward,” he noted.

It is often said that you sometimes have to look back in order to move forward, and that is exactly the approach Deitz is taking. He pointed out that the recent tour of India exposed significant gaps in the West Indies’ ODI game, particularly in the power plays.

In fact, while T20 cricket remains a relative strength for the West Indies, Deitz acknowledged the need for a more consistent approach in the 50-over format.

"We lost nine for 80 in the three power plays over three matches. The Indian fast bowlers really had an edge on our opening batters, and our opening bowlers didn’t penetrate their opening batters. That’s probably the telling part of the series,” the Australian stated.

“We’ve only played six ODI matches in about 14 months, and that really showed in India. Our T20 game is pretty good, but we played pretty poorly in ODI cricket. Hayley Matthews made 100, but there weren't too many positives, and ODI is what the next World Cup is about, so we’re switching our focus to that now,” he added.

Looking ahead, Deitz underscored the importance of balancing immediate improvements with broader developmental goals as he reiterated the need for consistency across formats.

When asked about the possibility of incorporating more Test cricket into the women’s programme, Deitz acknowledged the challenges of resource allocation in a format that remains sporadic at the international level.

“It’s quite difficult in the women’s game, and we only have maybe one Test a year or one every two years, so I think women's cricket, the white ball cricket's always going to dominate the planning, the long-term planning and strategy, and you just sort of got to have a good programme leading up to each Test match,” Deitz reasoned.

“I think until test match three becomes more of a regular thing, it's hard to really put a lot of resources into it, but I think it's really good for the ladies to get that opportunity to feel part of that; you know, the West Indies tradition of great Test match cricketers, so that's the stepping stone we'll start with that, and hopefully we can grow in the future,” he ended.