Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced that Hayley Matthews has been appointed as the West Indies Women’s Captain. Matthews, who is one of the leading allrounders in world cricket, will assume the leadership role from Stafanie Taylor ahead of the next West Indies Women’s Series, expected to be played later this year.
Taylor, the most successful female player in West Indies history and ranked among the all-time greats, has led the team for over seven years since 2015. She 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 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.
CWI Women’s Selection Panel recommendation was ratified at the CWI Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, 24 June. Lead Selector for Women’s cricket Ann Browne-John thanked Stafanie for her years in the role saying,
“The selection panel has done a review of the team including the leadership. After this review the panel took the decision to recommend that Hayley Matthews takes over the role as captain. Hayley has made notable progress over the years, serving as Vice-Captain of the West Indies Women’s Team and is the current Captain of her National Team, Barbados. She has matured as a player and is one of the leading players worldwide with a good grasp of the game. Given the experience that she would have gained in both roles, we are confident this is the ideal time for her to step into the role of captain.”
Browne-John added,
“We recognize that leading the team for seven years is a considerable achievement to which Stafanie has given huge levels of commitment and energy. We believe Stafanie is a world class performer who will no doubt continue to add tremendous value to the team as one of the top all-rounders in the game.”
West Indies Women’s Team Head Coach, Courtney Walsh said:
“The Selection panel felt that it was time to make the change. We
figured the timing was right with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup
coming up early next year, if we were thinking of making any changes
now would be the best time so that we give the new captain a couple
of series under her belt before she enters into a World Cup. Hayley
Matthews is young; she has longevity in the game, and she can
lead the team for a longer time to get the experience and we are
here to support her. For us it’s a win-win as we will have Stafanie to
concentrate on her best cricket and passing on guidance to Hayley
as she grows in the role of taking the team forward.”
Hayley Matthews expressed her pride and
gratitude in the appointment. She said:
“I am both humbled and honored to be
given the opportunity to Captain the West
Indies Women’s Team. It is definitely an
exhilarating feeling and I welcome the
experience to lead and learn with open
arms. This team has been very close
to my heart from the beginning of my
professional career eight years ago and
the influence of Stafanie’s leadership
throughout those eight years has played
a major role in the player I am today. I
eagerly anticipate working with the players
to continue building on the progress in which the team has
made thus far.”
Matthews added:
“I would like to thank Stafanie for her astounding leadership of
the team over the years. We’ve accomplished some of our biggest
milestones with her at the forefront and I look forward to continuing
playing alongside her.”
Matthews and Taylor have both been among the best players
for West Indies. In her career, Taylor has scored 5,298 runs
in 145 One-Day Internationals and 3,121 runs in 111 T20
Internationals. She has also taken 152 wickets in ODIs and 98 in
T20Is. Matthews, like Taylor is a right-handed top-order batter
and off-break bowler. She has an impressive international record
with 1,764 runs and 78 wickets in 69 ODIs, and 1,055 runs and
58 wickets in 61 T20Is.