Matthews named new West Indies women’s captain

Hayley Matthews
Hayley Matthews

HAYLEY MATTHEWS has been appointed as the West Indies women’s captain, according to a media release from Cricket West Indies (CWI).

Matthews, who is one of the leading all-rounders in world cricket, has replaced Stafanie Taylor, and will begin her reign ahead of the next West Indies series, expected to be played later this year.

Taylor, the most successful women’s player in West Indies history and ranked among the all-time greats, has led the team for over seven years since 2015. She was at the helm when West Indies won the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20 World Cup in 2016 and earlier this year when they reached the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.

The CWI women’s selection panel recommendation was ratified at the CWI board of directors meeting on Thursday.

Lead selector for women’s cricket Ann Browne-John said, “The selection panel has done a review of the team including the leadership. After this review the panel took the decision to recommend that Hayley Matthews takes over the role as captain. Hayley has made notable progress over the years, serving as vice-captain of the West Indies women’s team and is the current captain of her national team Barbados.

Stafanie Taylor

"She has matured as a player and is one of the leading players worldwide with a good grasp of the game. Given the experience that she would have gained in both roles, we are confident this is the ideal time for her to step into the role of captain.”

Browne-John thanked Taylor for her contributions as captain. “We recognise that leading the team for seven years is a considerable achievement to which Stafanie has given huge levels of commitment and energy. We believe Stafanie is a world-class performer who will no doubt continue to add tremendous value to the team as one of the top all-rounders in the game.”

Matthews expressed her pride and gratitude in the appointment. She said, “I am both humbled and honoured to be given the opportunity to captain the West Indies women’s team. It is definitely an exhilarating feeling and I welcome the experience to lead and learn with open arms.

"This team has been very close to my heart from the beginning of my professional career eight years ago and the influence of Stafanie’s leadership throughout those eight years has played a major role in the player I am today.”

Matthews said Taylor was an exceptional captain. “I would like to thank Stafanie for her astounding leadership of the team over the years.”

Matthews and Taylor have both been among the best players for West Indies. In her career, Taylor has scored 5,298 runs in 145 One-Day Internationals and 3,121 runs in 111 T20 Internationals. She has also taken 152 wickets in ODIs and 98 in T20Is.

Matthews, like Taylor, is a right-handed top-order batter and off-break bowler. She has an impressive international record with 1,764 runs and 78 wickets in 69 ODIs, and 1,055 runs and 58 wickets in 61 T20Is.

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