West Indies Women’s camp bowls off on Sunday

THE Cricket West Indies (CWI) selection panel has named 30 players for an estimated month-long West Indies Women’s high-performance camp to be held in Antigua, starting on Sunday.

This will be the second such month-long camp in 2021 assembled under the guidance of head coach Courtney Walsh and his support team.

With the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers now rescheduled for December, Walsh has devised a programme to maximise team preparations ahead of international matches and the qualifiers later in the year.

In a CWI media release on Thursday, Walsh said, “The purpose of this camp is to work on consistency and game awareness. The last camp was more observational, and we got a pretty good idea where the ladies are at. There are 30 players coming in, and a few of them are coming in nursing injuries, so the coaching staff and medical team are ready to work with all of them.”

Walsh said one of the purposes of the camp is to assess the players.

“We are going to use this camp to see as much of the players as possible. I am most excited to see the younger ones coming into the camp, because we’re trying to build the pool of players available. So I think it’ll be a great opportunity for these youngsters and the other new players to grasp the chance before them.”

Among the 30 players called up for the camp are eight uncapped players, including teenagers Zaida James from St Lucia and Jannillea Glasgow from St Vincent and the Grenadines. James is a left-arm medium pacer and Glasgow is a right-arm medium pacer.

The other uncapped players are Rashada Williams, Caneisha Isaac, Shanika Bruce, Mandy Mangru and Rachel Vincent. Making a return to the camp is left-handed wicket-keeper/batter Kycia Knight.

CWI’s lead selector for women’s cricket Ann Browne-John is elated that West Indies Women are back in action to prepare for upcoming series.

“It is very important to have the West Indies players back in a training camp as the coaches can continue to help them hone their skills as we prepare for our next series. Most of the top international teams have now restarted playing and it is critical for the West Indies team to prepare as we anticipate more international cricket coming up this summer.”

She added, “Due to the pandemic, a regional tournament has not been held yet, so the players haven’t had the opportunity to impress the selectors in competitive matches.”

CWI has been working closely with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Sport in Antigua and Barbuda to orchestrate logistics and agree the safety protocols for the camp after the successful hosting of the first women’s high-performance camp, the CG Insurance Super50 Cup and the West Indies international home series against Sri Lanka.

All players and support staff tested negative for covid19 before their arrival in Antigua. The players and support staff will train and live in a bio-secure bubble for the duration of the camp.

SQUAD

Aaliyah Alleyne, Reniece Boyce, Shanika Bruce, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin,, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Jannillea Glasgow, Sheneta Grimmond, Shawnisha Hector, Chinelle Henry, Caneisha Isaac, Zaida James, Japhina Joseph, Qiana Joseph, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Mandy Mangru, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz, Shakera Selman, Steffi Soogrim, Stafanie Taylor, Rachel Vincent, Rashada Williams

MANAGEMENT

Courtney Walsh (head coach), Sheena Gooding (team manager), Ryan Austin (assistant coach), Corey Collymore (assistant coach), Steve Liburd (assistant coach), Samantha Lynch (assistant coach), Robert Samuels (assistant coach), Neil Barry (physiotherapist), Shayne Cooper (strength and conditioning coach), Garry Belle (analyst), Amanda Johnson (mental skills coach), Naasira Mohammed (media and content officer)