Walsh has put squad in ‘good space’ – Taylor

LONDON (CMC):

WEST INDIES Women's captain, Stafanie Taylor, has praised the "huge" impact of head coach Courtney Walsh on the Caribbean side, stressing that it has left them in a "good space" heading into next month's ICC 50-over World Cup in New Zealand.

Walsh, the fast-bowling legend who holds the record for the most wickets by a West Indian in Tests, was appointed in the position 17 months ago and tasked with reviving a flagging women's programme.

"The West Indies are heading to the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 in a good space, the like of which I have not seen for a long time," Taylor wrote in her ICC column ahead of the March 4 to April 3 tournament.

"A lot of that is down to the coaching staff. Courtney Walsh took over as head coach in 2020, and the impact that he and his team have made has been huge. They have been able to teach us things that we were just completely unaware of previously.

"It makes you wonder what sort of players we could be if we had learned some of these things sooner. What sort of player would I be if I knew at the age of seven or eight what I know now?"

During Walsh's time in charge, Taylor has flourished, averaging 78 in One-Day Internationals and scoring two hundreds while also averaging nearly 30 in T20 Internationals.

She also pointed to the presence of former Jamaica and West Indies opener Robert Samuels as playing a critical role in the side's development.

"I have worked a lot with our batting coach, Robert Samuels, on trying to avoid slipping in bad habits," explained Taylor, the highest-ranked West Indies Women's batter in the ICC one-day charts.

"I never used to be one to watch videos very much, but now I try to film net sessions to make sure I'm avoiding those old habits," she said.

"Robert has been working hard on building up our middle order, and I hope that we will be able to show that our depth has improved during the tournament in New Zealand. The aim is to be stronger in that area, and that then relieves the pressure on individual players when they get to the middle.

"We still have a few players from the 2017 World Cup, and players like Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews are in good form," Taylor added.

The Windies skipper said that it was important that her team execute the "big moments" well and also focus on being consistent in all facets.

"We start the tournament against New Zealand, so we know that will be a challenge - taking them on in their own backyard," she pointed out. "But at a World Cup, every game is tricky, so we just need to make sure we focus on our strengths.

"If we are to make the semi-finals, we will need players to step up in the big moments, and it cannot just be one or two of them."