Short-term plans: hire top international batting coach, full-time sports psychologist, build high-performance facility at Coolidge, track fitness, and enforce franchise development standards
St. John’s
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced a set of urgent and long-term reforms to improve cricket in the region. This follows a meeting in August after a series of poor results, including a rare home loss to Australia in July.
Key figures like legends Brian Lara and Sir Clive Lloyd, captains Shai Hope and Roston Chase, coaches, and former players gathered to discuss problems facing West Indies cricket. They identified ten major challenges, such as weak regional tournaments, lack of specialist coaches, poor infrastructure, and limited finances.
Short-term plans include hiring a top international batting coach and a full-time sports psychologist for both men’s and women’s teams. CWI will also build a new high-performance facility at Coolidge Cricket Ground with modern nets, gyms, and rehab centers. Fitness will be tracked closely, and franchise teams must meet new development standards.
Long-term goals focus on creating a unified development system for young players, reforming franchises, building standard academies, completing a High-Performance Centre in Antigua, and securing better funding through ICC revenue and partnerships.
Miles Bascombe, CWI’s Director of Cricket, said these changes aim to raise standards and help future players succeed. The board approved these reforms at their September meeting, showing strong commitment to West Indies cricket’s revival.