Cricket West Indies (CWI) today named Courtney Walsh as the new Head Coach of the West Indies Women’s team. The West Indies cricket legend will lead the preparation and development of the Women’s Team at least up until the end of 2022, including competing in the next International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Cricket World Cup (50 overs) and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
The former world-renowned fast bowler has served as an assistant coach with the Bangladesh Men’s team, and subsequently worked on a short-term contract with the West Indies Women’s team, including at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2020 held in Australia earlier this year.
Walsh is the leading wicket-taker in West Indies Test history with 519 wickets in 132 Test matches. A former Jamaica and West Indies captain, he took 227 wickets in One-Day Internationals, and also took 1807 wickets in 429 first-class matches. The 57-year-old is a member of the ICC Hall of Fame.
“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. The experience I have, my knowledge of the game, and my overall organizational skills will be key aspects as we try to develop a winning team culture,” said Walsh.
“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.”
Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket said Walsh will be integral to moving the women’s programme forward.
“I am delighted to have Courtney leading our international women's programme having successfully come through CWI’s recruitment process. 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,” Adams said.
Since retiring from the game, Walsh has held several posts within CWI cricket set-up. He was a member of West Indies’ senior selection panel from 2013 to 2016 and was part of the panel which selected the squad that won the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in India. He has also been Team Manager for the West Indies Under-19 and Under-15 teams and has served as a Director of the Jamaica Cricket Association. He has also been a Bowling Mentor for the Jamaica Tallawahs and Bowling Coach for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).