Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Dr Kishore Shallow has raised serious concerns regarding the recent output of the West Indies Women cricket team, describing their displays as “below par” and highlighting the urgent need for improvement ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup later this year.
The comments come on the heels of a disappointing home series against Sri Lanka Women cricket team, where the Windies were defeated 2-1 in the ODIs and 2-0 in the T20Is, signaling a worrying decline in form for a team previously regarded as competitive in the regional and global arena.
Series against Sri Lanka sparks alarm
Speaking on iSports i95.5 FM, Dr Shallow reflected on the series and noted that, aside from a few standout individual performances, the team’s overall showing was troubling.
“I will definitely admit that there are concerns. I looked at the recent series against Sri Lanka; in fact I was there for one of the T20 matches, and I followed the other matches online, and certainly it was a disappointing performance except for the performance of the captain Hayley Matthews, who scored a hundred in the last ODI game, and Jannillea Glasgow, a young player who scored back-to-back half centuries,” he said.
“On the whole, a team that not too long ago was ranked below us in Sri Lanka, beating us at home fairly convincingly, that wasn’t an encouraging sign at all.”
Dr Shallow emphasized that the responsibility now lies with the Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe, to identify structural issues and ensure the team shows tangible improvement in time for the World Cup.
Coaching question marks
The CWI president also expressed surprise at the lack of scrutiny directed at head coach Shane Deitz, whose contract has only a few months remaining.
“I’m surprised that Shane Deitz is not getting more attention. But I’m sure Miles has been speaking with him, and I’d be surprised if those discussions haven’t been ongoing,” Dr Shallow remarked, hinting that a decision regarding Deitz’s future is imminent.
Facing world number one Australia
The Windies Women now face a daunting home series against Australia Women cricket team, currently ranked number one in the world. The first T20I is scheduled to bowl off on Thursday at Arnos Vale, St Vincent.
While acknowledging the challenge, Dr Shallow called on the team to rise to the occasion.
“We have a tough assignment coming up against Australia pretty soon, and I’m hopeful that we can play some good cricket. It’s going to be tough because Australia is the number one team in the world, but at least we have some world-class players who, I know, if they put forward their best performances, then we could definitely compete and hopefully win,” he said.
Urgent call for improvement
With the T20 World Cup just three months away, Dr Shallow’s warning is clear: the West Indies Women must urgently elevate their performance levels.
The team’s response in the coming series against Australia will be a critical litmus test of their readiness for global competition, and a defining moment for the leadership and coaching setup of Caribbean women’s cricket.
 president Dr Kishore Shallow has raised concerns regarding the recent output of the West Indies Women cricket team.){kind=link}