Following a forgettable tour of the UK where they failed to win a single game in either the ODI or T20 series against England, West Indies women’s head coach Shane Deitz says 2026 will be a defining year for the team.
The regional team was blanked 3-0 in both series by the higher-ranked England women and will now face South Africa women in a similar three-match ODI and T20 series, beginning on Wednesday in the Caribbean.
However, speaking in a post-match interview after West Indies lost the third T20I on Saturday by nine wickets, Deitz said the next eight months will be critical as they prepare for a packed schedule next year.
“Our season, so to speak, begins in February next year…2026 is a massive year for us.
“We have 15 ODIs and we’ll obviously go through the next World Cup qualification, and we have a Test match and a World Cup, so we’ll try to rebuild the situation, and then we have eight months to work hard,” Deitz revealed
“What we do in the next eight months off the playing field is going to be the key thing for our performance next year,” he maintained.
“There are a lot of things we work on off the field, team culture and then a lot of fitness and skill work will be required, so we have a great opportunity now to play a few games against South Africa and then have an excellent off-field programme for seven to eight months and then come back in 2026 and take on the rest of the world. That’s the plan, and we’re excited about it,” Deitz explained.
He said during that period, he was hoping to help some of the younger players develop their skills on a one-on-one basis.
“I want to spend some time with the players. I’m the head coach, but I rarely get much time to work with players one-on-one, so that’s what we’re going to have to try and do.
“The logistics in the Caribbean are really difficult, so we’ve just got to get everyone together so I can work on one-on-one skillsets,” added Deitz.
“It’s a skill-based game, cricket, and the team with the best skills generally wins, so our skills, particularly the younger ones, have to improve a lot to be world-class. We need world-class players to beat a world-class team…”
Meanwhile, the head coach said he was not disheartened by the team’s performance against England.
He said the team was missing key players and was relatively young compared to England women.
“I think it was a great opportunity, a learning experience for a lot of new players that we are introducing. We had a chance to bring some players in, and that’s what we’re looking for,” Deitz concluded.