Walsh wants hands-on recruitment for women’s team

Newly appointed West Indies women's coach Courtney Walsh says he would more than likely have to take a hands-on approach as it relates to the recruitment of players for the regional women's side.

With the uncertainty surrounding the playing of regional tournaments due to the coronavirus pandemic, Walsh says he may very well have to conduct regular camps to have a look at players before selection for upcoming assignments.

The West Indies cricket legend will lead the preparation and development of the women's team at least up until the end of 2022, including competing in the next International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's Cricket World Cup (50 overs) and ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

For Walsh, his immediate task is to get some camps going as soon as possible, pending medical protocols.

Get a camp going

"What I would love to be able to do is to get a camp going at the earliest convenience with everybody involved so I can start looking at players because I don't want to just take word of mouth from other people. There are players I want to have a personal look at, to see where they are and get a good guideline or gauge as to where they can go and who we can prolong with", said Walsh.

A number of the current West Indies Women's players, including captain Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin, Chedean Nation and Afy Fletcher,will be entering there 13th year as international players, and, as a result, Walsh believes it is important to widen the player pool to viable sustain West Indies women's cricket at the international level.

"The more cricket you play or the more people play cricket, the pool is going to be wider. That is why I emphasise that it is important to at least get some camps going in the meantime to look at various players. You might invite 20 people to camp 'A' or a different 20 or 10 to Camp 'B' so you get a chance to see more players and give them exposure.

Walsh and Director of Cricket at CWI, Jimmy Adams, are set to meet in the coming days to finalise coaching staff and other logistical matters surrounding the women's programme.

Former West Indies Women's coach Sherwin Campbell says he has been in contact with Adams to make himself available as a member of the new coaching staff as an assistant.