Windwards, TT coaches: More domestic women's cricket needed

MORE regional cricket is needed if West Indies women’s cricket is to thrive.

So says TT and Windward Islands Under-19 girls’ coaches Gibran Mohammed and Cleton Burnett, who believe the sport is currently at a crucial stage where more opportunity must be given to younger players to aid their transition into the senior regional teams.

With veteran all-rounder Deandra Dottin retired, and seasoned campaigners like Anisa Mohammed and Stafanie Taylor in the twilight of their illustrious careers, both coaches think more domestic and territorial competitions are needed to bolster and widen the region’s talent pool.

The current crop of regional players have won just three of their past 20 matches; all three being T20 Internationals.

In September 2022, former skipper Mohammed took a six-month break from international cricket following a hectic schedule. She is yet to confirm her return to the regional senior set up.

Taylor has been plagued with a host of injuries over the past year. She only returned to the Fairbreak International T20 on Sunday for her franchise team Tornadoes.

Bajan all-rounder and West Indies women’s captain Hayley Matthews, Rashada Williams, Shemaine Campbelle and Afy Fletcher, among others, have bravely held down the fort in the absence of the experienced heads but the squad seems to still be missing a few key links.

MORE GAMES NEEDED

Windwards coach Burnett wants more girls and women’s cricket played throughout the region. It’s the only way West Indies can further develop its current crop of players and unearth new talent, he said.

“If you look at the regional level, each year the girls (territorial teams) usually get one tournament similar to the U-19s. But for the girls to grow and develop, it has to take place in the middle.

“The more opportunity you give them, the more time they can spend in the middle actually playing the game and that’s the only way they’ll grow. We need continuity in the game.

“You need that development process that’s there from the U-19 plus, I wish they can have an U-15 division as well so we can have a grassroots development process going through,” he said.

Burnett welcomed the second edition of the Women’s Caribbean Premier League T20 tournament in August and said it augurs well for the shorter format. But between the Caribbean islands, he wants to see more cricket played.

“When you look at the bigger cricketing nations, you’re seeing how their girls and women are developing in those countries. It is imperative that we continue to have that (Women’s CPLT20) in the Caribbean because our girls generally need more cricket.

“If you look at the recent Women’s T20 World Cup, the bigger cricket nations played their U-19 players in the senior tournament, and that is their continued process.

“To have this group of U-19 girls playing and developing, it speaks well for our future. This year they (Windwards U19) may have about seven games, I wish it should be more, but I’m still thankful for what they have,” he added.

Burnett has been U-19 coach for the past five years, coached the senior women’s team there for four years and has been coaching for the past 18 years.

KEEN INTEREST IN WOMEN'S CRICKET

Mohammed shared similar sentiments and said the girls must be challenged regularly to keep them sharp, and competition-ready, particularly on the global stage.

For his team, Mohammed wants them to continue developing and growing from strength to strength.

“I think the future looks bright and a lot of girls are gravitating towards this game. There’s a keen interest in it. I too, was amazed at the skill level that we would have had in Trinidad especially.

“It’s just to build, continue to give them the opportunity, challenge and encourage them to push forward and let them keep enjoying the game and have an appetite for more,” he said.

The TT U-19 girls’ team recently participated in a 19 and Under Tri-Nation 30-over series alongside Windward Islands and Barbados. The three teams are preparing for the upcoming regional competition, set to bowl off in July.

And like Burnett, Mohammed wants to see more young players fused into senior team training sessions to aid their journey from one level to the next.

“Eleven of them (TT U-19 players) are involved in the senior team set up. We want to incorporate the other four into the set up so we have the entire group training as one unit.

“We would have one culture, one standard and it would be easy for the younger ones to transition into the senior team.”