Walsh appointed as interim assistant coach for West Indies Women

Cricket West Indies have announced Walsh as the interim assistant coach for West Indies Women.

JAMAICA (Agencies) - Cricket West Indies have announced Courtney Walsh as the interim assistant coach for West Indies Women for their upcoming series with India.

They had previously named Gus Logie as interim head coach, and have now announced Walsh, the all-time leading Test wicket-taker for the West Indies, as his assistant. Former Guyana seamer Rayon Griffith will join the pair to complete the team s interim coaching staff.

Walsh has previously served as bowling coach for the Bangladesh national team as well as serving for a time as a selector for the West Indies. While his remit appears to be more wide-reaching than his time with Bangladesh, he says he will still be primarily working with the bowlers. "My function is to focus a lot more on the bowlers and the cricket in general to get the ladies together," he said. "I’m just happy to be able to work with Gus - we haven’t had a chance to be on the same team since we were players and we just want the women to play the type of cricket we know they can play."

Griffith, in contrast to both Logie and Walsh, never represented the national side. Since retiring as a player however he has served in a number of coaching roles, most notably as assistant coach with the West Indies during the ICC Men s Cricket World Cup 2019, staying with the team for their home series against India after. He has also served as assistant coach for the Guyan Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League.

Logie was very positive about the appointments, believing the coaching Walsh and Griffith provide to be some of the best available. "We’ve had some of the best minds and coaches in the region working with the players," he said. "Courtney and Rayon have been working really hard with the ladies at training and we are hoping to see the results on the field."

Also serving an interim backroom role for the series will be Evril Betty Lewis who will act as team manager. She is confident of a successful stint with the team. "As a former career tourism official and Manager of the Barbados Senior Women’s Cricket Team, I am comfortable operating in the critical role as the interim manager of the West Indies Women’s Team," she said. "I intend to bring a high level of trust, effective communication and instill a greater sense of purpose, hinged on discipline and professionalism, that the players can transfer onto the field of play."

Cricket West Indies  Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams was also confident that the interim team will provide a fantastic level of support to the team until the appointment of permanent staff. "I am confident that our entire support staff, under Gus’ leadership and direction, is capable of driving our women’s cricket forward whilst we begin the search for a permanent Head Coach," he said. "Gus has been involved with the program for the past two years and both Rayon and Courtney bring with them a strong working knowledge of what it takes to be successful at the elite level."