It may not be ‘the end of the road’ for women cricketers who have not made the squad to the current tours to Ireland and England; because, during Cricket West Indies (CWI) Annual General Meeting (AGM), held last Saturday and Sunday in Antigua, CWI directors revealed there is need to source funding for further investment in women’s cricket development, so as to uncover and prepare a wider pool of competitive female talent.
Team Guyana, during the Regional female tournaments that were held in Guyana
This strategy had previously been used with male players in the Caribbean. The team that participated in the Tri-Nation Series in Ireland in May 2019 had seen some players making their debut and some players making a lengthy return to the ODI set-up.
Shane Dowrich and Raymon Reifer were among the notable debutants on that tour, while
Jonathan Carter who had a lengthy break from a Windies set-up returned and played matches on that tour.
The strategy that informed selection of the male team was exposure of a wider pool of players, and that is the same initiative planned for the female cricketers.
In the CWI ‘emerging players camp’ that was held in Antigua, the group of players chosen had been given exposure to intense training by the CWI, and were also caught up in the process that informed preparation of a wider pool of competitive talent to play white-ball cricket in the Caribbean.
With directors making the right call for CWI to invest in women’s cricket, new players will step up to the forefront, while players who have had a lengthy break may see themselves returning to squads or training set-ups.
The rising female talents from Guyana in Shabika Gajnabi, Cherry Ann Fraser and Mandy Mangru may have to look sharp for a possible selection.
Further, the likes of Erva Giddings, Sheneta Grimmond and Tremayne Smartt, who have done exceptionally well in past Regional tournaments at the senior level and have not earned Windies selections, may also get another opening when women’s cricket gets its deserved investment.
During the AGM, CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams, currently on tour in England, presented a report disclosing that the West Indies Women’s team that toured Ireland was impressive, but has been challenged by England. Apart from the current players on that tour to England, a wider pool of female talents across the Caribbean, including Guyana, will be on the radar for selection.
West Indies Women are currently ranked sixth in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and fourth in T20 Internationals.
Recently, West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor lashed out at the CWI, asking for more to be done for women’s cricket.
She said that since the victory of the T20 World Cup in 2016, things have not improved for women, and CWI could do a bit more. The CWI have seemingly answered Taylor’s call for improving the lot of women’s cricket. (Brandon Corlette)
