After a shock opening loss to Scotland, the West Indies Women regrouped and responded in gritty fashion on Friday, edging past Ireland Women by six runs in a tense encounter at the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Lahore.
Led by a composed all-round performance from captain Hayley Matthews and a crucial late-innings knock from Chinelle Henry, the Caribbean side posted 181-6 in their allotted 33 overs. Despite a spirited chase from Ireland, Matthews returned with the ball to snatch four wickets for 24 and seal a much-needed victory. Matthews also took three catches in the match.
After Ireland won the toss and sent them in, West Indies found their footing through a vital 66-run partnership between Stafanie Taylor (46 off 56) and Zaida James (36 off 54). The innings was then lifted at the back end by a powerful cameo from Henry, who struck an unbeaten 46 off 36 balls, including two fours and a six, pushing the Windies to a defendable total.
Former West Indies captain Carl Hooper didn’t mince his words on the ongoing captaincy debate during his appearance on the Mason and Guest radio programme Tuesday. Speaking with candour, the former middle order batter weighed up the merits of various potential leaders, while also casting a reflective eye on the legacy of former captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who recently stepped down after a five-year stint at the helm.
“This is a tough one. This is my point of view: The captain should always command his place in the side,” Hooper declared.
He was quick to point out that while many names are being bandied about—“I heard a lot of names being called—Athanaze” —the real question, he stressed, is whether a player can handle the pressure. “You go against Australia or whoever else is on after that, and let’s say he has a couple of low scores; is his name going to come under scrutiny? Maybe we should drop him.”
Citing examples, he recalled how “we had (Joshua) Da Silva grooming but he lost his place in Pakistan. So you got Tevin Imlach...”
For Hooper, the current crop of young players may be talented, yet the burden of captaincy demands much more than mere ability—it requires consistency and mental toughness, qualities he felt were yet to be proven, particularly in red-ball cricket.
Legendary West Indies batsman and former captain, Sir Vivian Richards, believes that a suitable replacement for Kraigg Brathwaite as captain of the men’s Test team will be hard to find.
Cricket West Indies, on March 31, announced that Brathwaite had stepped down as Test captain after three years in the role, adding that a replacement would be named in the weeks following the announcement.
Sir Viv questioned whether the board was prepared for the development, suggesting that the cupboard seems a bit empty.
“One of the things I believe is that and I don’t know if they had made enough preparations for that particular format. We see a lot of who has potential in the ODI and T20 format as captains but I don’t think they would have made enough preparations for someone taking over from Brathwaite and it has basically opened the doors. We have to look at individuals who can demand a place, I believe, and that’s very important,” he said.
Sir Viv led the West Indies in 50 Test matches from 1984 to 1991 and is the only West Indies captain never to lose a Test series. The Antiguan suggested that maybe it is time for special attention to be given to young players with the potential to lead.
“I think that’s maybe something we have to look at and look at the individuals with the potential and not just basically with batting skills but someone who is pretty astute with the game and someone who demands the respect of the individuals they are going to lead so all of these things are crucial,” he said.
Despite having not played a Test match for the West Indies in over three years, veteran cricket commentator Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira believes that ODI and T20 captain Shai Hope is the best man to captain the Test team.
Perreira, who has been commentating for over five decades, said with Daren Sammy appointed as all-format head coach, it would make sense for Cricket West Indies (CWI) to follow the same route with the captaincy.
The 31-year-old Hope was recently appointed captain of the T20 side, taking over from Rovman Powell.
“Throughout the Caribbean, people have been trying to work out who may be the best person to appoint as the red-ball captain.
“My own feeling is, keep it simple. If you have an all-format coach in Daren Sammy, both white-ball and red-ball, simplify it. Ask Hope to also be your Test captain. I think it will work in unison with the coach, I think it will work nicely with [director of cricket] Miles Bascombe,” Perreira said.
Chief Executive Officer of Cricket West Indies (CWI), Chris Dehring, met with Jamaica’s Sports Minister, the Honourable Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, on Monday, 7 April 2025, as part of his ongoing engagement with regional stakeholders.
The discussions with Minister Grange focused on the upcoming Test against Australia at Sabina Park and the preparations for a historic day/night Test match from 12–16 July this year. Key highlights from the discussion included plans to strengthen the cricket infrastructure and grassroots cricket for both boys and girls.
Hailing the discussions a success, especially with Australia set to play in Jamaica for the first time in a decade, Dehring said:
“I am extremely pleased with the intent shown by the Minister of Sport and by extension the Government of Jamaica to collaborate with Cricket West Indies ahead of the imminent Australia tour. In addition, I would like to thank the Minister for the recently announced support for the Jamaica Cricket Association to purchase and install the new lights at Sabina Park in time for the Australia Test and T20 matches. With this in view, we believe fans will enjoy the experience of what will be the first day/night, pink ball Test in Jamaica.”
