Shane Deitz is new West Indies women head coach

ST JOHN’S, Antigua:

CRICKET WEST Indies (CWI) yesterday announced the appointment of Shane Deitz as the new head coach of the West Indies Women’s team. The appointment was confirmed at the CWI Board of Directors meeting on Friday, June 30, at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.

Deitz is a former first-class player who represented South Australia as a wicketkeeper-batsman in 66 first-class matches between 1998 and 2008.

The 48-year-old was head coach of the Bangladesh Women team and is the head coach of the Netherlands Women.

Johnny Grave, CWI’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “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 game, in his native Australia, as well as other parts of the world. He is dynamic, energetic, and is 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.”

Deitz, on the other hand, was happy to play a part in the development of a region with rich cricketing history.

“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,” said Deitz.

He added: “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.”

Deitz will start the role in late August ahead of the Women’s CPL and the West Indies Women’s next international assignment, an away tour of Australia in October.