St. John’s, Jul 8 (IANS): Cricket West Indies (CWI) have announced the appointment of Shane Deitz as the new head coach of the West Indies women’s team, after a Board of Directors meeting at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
Deitz will take over from Courtney Walsh, whose contract was not renewed after West Indies failed to qualify for the knockouts of this year’s Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.
"I am very honoured to have the opportunity to coach the West Indies Women’s team. West Indies cricket both men and women have a great history of success whilst playing entertaining cricket and my aim is to continue with that formula.”
“The team has a great blend of world-class senior players and some talented younger players which is a good starting point to build from. We have a lot of work to do though as reality is we are behind the top few sides in the world and we need to bridge that gap and become competitive again to challenge for World Cups in the future,” he said in a statement on his appointment to the role.
Deitz, 48, is a former first-class player who represented South Australia as a wicket-keeper/batsman in 66 first-class matches between 1998 and 2008. After his playing days were over, he has been in the coaching circuit at professional and international levels for over a decade.
He was the head coach of the Bangladesh women’s team from 2013-14 and is currently serving as the head coach of the Netherlands women’s team since 2020. Deitz was also the head coach of the Sapphires team in this year’s Fairbreak Invitational Tournament in Hong Kong.
“I do believe though the nucleus is there to create a world-class competitive side and that is what I will aim to do. The standard of women’s cricket is at an all-time high and we need to strive to reach those heights through good planning, a lot of hard work and then executing on the pitch. I am very excited about that challenge and can’t wait to start working with this talented squad,” he added.
Deitz will start his role as West Indies Women’s head coach in late August ahead of the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and the West Indies’ next international assignment, which is an away tour of Australia in October.
“We are pleased to announce Shane as our new West Indies Women’s Head Coach following a robust global recruitment process. Shane is well equipped for the role having coached extensively in both the Men’s and Women’s games, in his native Australia, as well as other parts of the world.”
“He is dynamic, energetic, and very familiar with the requirements of the women’s game. He brings the right skills and experience to drive the team and the women’s game in the West Indies forward,” said Johnny Grave, CWI’s Chief Executive Officer.