CRICKET West Indies (CWI) is maintaining that its principal objective is to produce world-class players and winning teams but said this can only be achieved by establishing a high-performance system, implementing rigorous coaching and development programmes, and improving women’s cricket throughout the region in strategic alignment and with the full support from the territorial boards and franchises.
In its Annual Report, which was released recently, the governing body for cricket in the region pointed out that “despite the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cricket Department, with the support of the Cricket Committee, was still able to make progress in key areas over the past year.
With the appointment of our Coaching Development Manager Chris Brabazon in late 2019 we have created a West Indies Cricket Pathway (WICP) which will ensure that all our players and coaches possess the requisite skills and knowledge to efficiently progress from the Foundation to the Elite level.”
The WICP, CWI said, “will assist in Talent Identification and provide feedback on where our High-Performance programmes need to focus. We have made significant progress in Coaching Development programmes at both the high performance and the foundation levels”
According to the report, “a High-Performance Coaching Group (HPCG) has been formed to collectively engage our Franchise head coaches, West Indies coaches and specialists on a regular basis to share best practice online and in person. Coach Development Plans are also being put in place for Franchise and International coaches to provide holistic support and enhance their personal development, while at the other end of the coaching pathway we delivered our Foundation Course to over 180 regional players and coaches.”
CWI boasted that last year, it also built an Athlete Management System (AMS) “which is now our central hub for the collection, storage, and dissemination of data for our coaches, players, and managers.
This platform has made it possible for all coaches and players within the region to access data for planning. The relevant data from our regional games are now being captured by the system and is available to all users of the platform.
“This AMS will be a key element for driving performance going forward. As of September 2020, we now have a fulltime High-Performance Team which includes a Sports Science and Medicine Manager, Cricket Analytics Manager, Coach Development Manager, Talent Identification Manager, Player Personal Development Manager and a High-Performance Manager.
According to CWI, “Having all these key positions filled is critical in enabling us to drive a new High-Performance system in a meaningful and sustainable way. This means that CWI now has the capacity to support the franchises across all the key areas of elite player development.
“We are confident that with our improved coaching standards and our online platform which will facilitate higher standards, accountability and better planning, we will have the key ingredients which will enable us to drive better performances throughout our cricket system in 2021 and beyond.”
