Right time for Hayley says WI Women head coach

West Indies Women’s Head Coach, Courtney Walsh felt the appointment of Hayley Matthews as captain of the regional side has come at the right time.

Lead selector Ann-Brown John said the move is part of the succession planning for the team and also geared towards getting the best out of the player and breathing new life into the side.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) recently announced that Matthews had been appointed West Indies women’s captain taking the reins from other top players, Stafanie Taylor, who has led the team for the past seven years.

Taylor, the most successful female player in the West Indies history and ranked among the all-time great, was at the helm when West Indies won the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2016 and earlier this year when they reached the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.

She explained that the selection panel did a review of the team, looking at where they are and where they wanted to go.

Walsh shared similar sentiments on the move, noting that the timing was right and that after the burden of the captaincy, Taylor could get back to her best.

“With the World Cup around the corner, I think it was a good time to get a.new captain in if you’re going to make a change,” said Walsh.