Courtney Walsh appointed Head Coach of West Indies till the end of 2022

Former West Indies captain Courtney Walsh has been named as Head Coach of West Indies till the end of 2022, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced on Thursday (October 1). He will look into the preparation and development of the team for the next Women’s Cricket World Cup, which has been postponed to 2022 and the Women’s T20 World Cup in the same year as well. He will take over from interim head coach Andre Coley, who was in-charge for West Indies' just-concluded series against England.



“This is indeed an honour to be named as the new Head Coach,” said Walsh after the announcement.



“It’s an exciting challenge and I’ve always wanted to give back in any way I can and help with the development of the game in the West Indies. The experience I have, my knowledge of the game, and my overall organisational skills will be key aspects as we try to develop a winning team culture.”



Walsh, who is West Indies (men’s) leading wicket-taker in Test history with 519 scalps to his name, had worked with the women’s side during the T20 World Cup earlier this year. He also served as the assistant coach of Bangladesh men’s team in the past.



“I worked with the team at the Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year in Australia and in the series against India in the Caribbean last year, so I have a very good understanding of what is required,” said the 57-year-old, who is also a member of the ICC Hall of Fame.



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“The ability and the talent are there, we have some fantastic players in the West Indies, and it will be my duty and focus to help the women to develop their talents and achieve the goals we are going to be setting together.”



Walsh, who has 227 ODI wickets to his name, also was in the selection panel from 2013 to 2016 and selected the squad that won West Indies the Women’s T20 World Cup title in 2016.



“I am delighted to have Courtney leading our international women's programme having successfully come through CWI’s recruitment process,” said Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket.



“He will be overseeing the programme initially until the end of the next two ICC Women's World Cups in 2022 and he will be pivotal in working with CWI’s High Performance Team to move our whole women’s programme forward, as part of our wider strategic plan which has Women’s cricket as a key priority.”



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