LONDON, CMC – West Indies Women’s captain, Stafanie Taylor, has praised the “huge” impact of head coach Courtney Walsh on the Caribbean side, stressing it had left them in a “good space” heading into next month’s ICC 50-over World Cup in New Zealand.
Walsh, the fast bowling legend who holds the record for the most wickets by a West Indian in Tests, was appointed in the position 17 months ago and tasked with reviving a flagging women’s programme.
“The West Indies are heading to the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 in a good space, the like of which I have not seen for a long time,” Taylor wrote in her ICC column ahead of the March 4 to April 3 tournament.
“A lot of that is down to the coaching staff. Courtney Walsh took over as head coach in 2020 and the impact that he and his team have made has been huge. They have been able to teach us things that we were just completely unaware of previously.
“It makes you wonder what sort of players we could be if we had learned some of these things sooner. What sort of player would I be if I knew at the age of seven or eight, what I know now?”
During Walsh’s time in charge Taylor has flourished, averaging 78 in One-Day Internationals and scoring two hundreds while also averaging nearly 30 in T20 Internationals.
She also pointed to the presence of former Jamaica and West Indies opener, Robert Samuels, as playing a critical role in the side’s development.
“I have worked a lot with our batting coach Robert Samuels on trying to avoid slipping in bad habits,” explained Taylor, the highest ranked West Indies Women’s batsman in the ICC one-day charts.
“I never used to be one to watch videos very much, but now I try to film net sessions to make sure I’m avoiding those old habits.
“Robert has been working hard on building up our middle order, and I hope that we will be able to show that our depth has improved during the tournament in New Zealand.
“The aim is to be stronger in that area, and that then relieves the pressure on individual players when they get to the middle.
“We still have a few players from the 2017 World Cup, and players like Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews are in good form.”
West Indies arrive in New Zealand hoping to make amends for their last 50-over World Cup campaign in England, when they finished sixth and failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
In a nightmare outing, they lost their first four matches – including being bowled out for an historic low of 48 against South Africa – before recovering to win two of their last three matches.
Taylor said it was important her side executed the “big moments” well, and also focussed on being consistent in all facets.
“We start the tournament against New Zealand, so we know that will be a challenge taking them on in their own backyard,” she pointed out.
“But at a World Cup, every game is tricky so we just need to make sure we focus on our strengths.
“If we are to make the semi-finals, we will need players to step up in the big moments and it cannot just be one or two of them.”
She continued: “We need to play well across all three phases. Our fast bowling depth is looking good with Shamilia Connell in good form, and that could be very useful in the conditions over here.
“We are just really excited to get started because the team is in a really good space.”