Dehring: Caribbean must invest in girls’ cricket

The six territorial cricket boards are being urged to do more to support the continued development of the West Indies Women’s Team in the One-Day International and T20 formats.

That call has come from Cricket West Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Officer Chris Dehring, who believes that the potential for growth and earnings in the women’s game is almost limitless if the proper framework is established across the region.

“Imagine, we can reach the semi-final of the women’s World Cup, and there’s not even a single girls’ high school tournament anywhere in the region,” Dehring told The Gleaner at a recent lacrosse black-tie fundraiser.

“… Imagine if we can put together high-school tournaments, high-school leagues,” he reasoned.

The West Indies Women are currently ranked sixth among 20 countries in the ICC Women’s T20 International rankings while they sit seventh among 15 nations in the ODI rankings.

Dehring argued that the team’s achievements are even more remarkable given the lack of structured grass-roots programmes for aspiring female cricketers across the region.

With men’s and women’s cricket set to return to the Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028, the CWI CEO is optimistic about what a team featuring Jamaican talent could achieve.

“Attracting some of these incredible female athletes that we have in Jamaica … I can well see Jamaica reaching the podium in women’s cricket quicker than in men’s cricket.”

‘Give young people opportunity’

The Jamaican businessman believes there are numerous benefits to establishing a proper youth structure for girls interested in cricket but noted that local stakeholders must first recognise the importance of investing in the sport.

“How can Jamaica help itself? At the end of the day, the Jamaica Cricket Association is here, you have ISSA, you need to be looking at sports that give all young people an opportunity,” Dehring said, noting that the earning possibilities in cricket are endless.

“… There’s no bigger sport for women in the world at present time that gives you a greater opportunity for financial sustainability, financial earnings, and just an international career bigger than cricket at this time. So look at that as an opportunity,” he added.

The former managing director and CEO of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 is urging cricket stakeholders to put a proper developmental structure in place to make meaningful use of the region’s vast talent pool.

“Jamaica probably has the highest per capita athletic quotient for women anywhere in the world. You just look at all girls’ high-school athletes. It’s just incredible the talent that we have. We need to be harnessing that. More importantly, we need to be giving those girls the opportunity that they deserve.”

The West Indies Women were eliminated by Australia in the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in June.