Mumbai, India – The members of the West Indies Women’s team, presently in India for the ICC Women’s World Cup, are showing the benefits of their time at the Sagicor High Performance Centre. This is the view of Andre Coley, the High Performance Coach, who has accompanied the 15-member squad to India for the prestigious event.
Coley, a former Jamaica wicket-keeper and West Indies Under-19 coach, has been based at the Sagicor High Performance Centre since inception in 2010. He is presently working alongside Sherwin Campbell, the former West Indies Vice Captain, who has been Women’s Head Coach for five years.
"Having the opportunity to train at the excellent indoor and outdoor facilities at the Sagicor HPC has helped the girls in a major way. They had the chance to fine-tune some technical areas when they were in Barbados for a month at the end of last year. In the time they were there we saw some tremendous improvements in all departments," said Coley, who also worked with the team when they reached the semi-finals of the ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka last year.
"We have seen the confidence levels improve among the girls. We have also seen an improvement in the skill levels, and the performances overall as a team have also moved up. Their awareness of how to play the game at this level, in home and foreign conditions, has also improved and these are some of the key areas that have to be worked on if we are to become a stronger force in women’s cricket."
Since the stint at the Sagicor HPC, West Indies tied the five-match ODI rubber against South Africa and then easily beat the visitors 2-0 in the Twenty20 series at Beausejour Cricket Ground.
They left home last week for the ICC Women’s World Cup, which will be played in the Indian cities of Mumbai and Cuttack. West Indies will have a warm-up match on Monday against Australia followed by another warm-up on Tuesday against a Local XI.
They have been drawn in Group A alongside defending champions England, hosts India, and Sri Lanka. Group B will include Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.
"We have an excellent coaching staff and support staff so we believe we will do well in India. The overall aim is to win the tournament, but we also want to see the girls doing the basics right as we continue to build a team for the future," Coley said.
FULL SQUAD:
Merissa Aguilleira (Captain)
Stafanie Taylor (Vice Captain)
Shemaine Campbelle
Shanel Daley
Deandra Dottin
Kycia Knight
Kyshona Knight
Natasha McLean
Anisa Mohammed
Subrina Munroe
Juliana Nero
June Ogle
Shaquana Quintyne
Shakera Selman
Tremayne Smartt
Team Management Unit
Sherwin Campbell – Head Coach
Pat Greenidge – Team Manager
Andre Coley – High Performance Coach
Janel Springer – Physiotherapist
Amena Highland – Fitness Trainer
Dinesh Mahabir – Video Analyst
MATCH SCHEDULE
Warm-up matches
January 28: vs Australia at Middle Income Group Ground
January 29: vs Local XI at Mumbai Police Gymkhana
Tournament matches:
January 31: vs India at Brabourne Stadium
February 3: vs Sri Lanka at Middle Income Group Ground
February 5: vs England at Bandra Kurla Complex
Super Six matches: to be played on February 8, 10, 11, 13, 15
FINAL: February 17 at Cricket Club of India (day/night)