Selman: ‘Coming out of 2016, I think we missed an opportunity to propel women's cricket’ (Part 2)

In this two-part series, former Windies seamer Shakera Selman talks about the state of the current team as well as the challenges facing women’s cricket in the Caribbean 

Is it then reasonable to expect players to transition quickly, given the limited number of games they play?

I think maybe what we need to do is not be so harsh on them when they don't improve at the rate the players from other countries are improving. They aren't playing enough cricket at the regional level. And our players need to play more cricket outside of the Caribbean as well. 

If there's no way for us to support them playing more cricket here because we don't have the finances, then we must have relationships with counties in England, Australia, or wherever, where we can send them on some type of program overseas. 

You made a point when you were talking about Gajnabi, who just played a regional competition of six T20s and then three 50-over games. If she's not selected for the West Indies team, then she doesn't play again until the CPL begins. And that is not enough for an international cricketer. So we need to find ways for them to play outside [the region].

You think back to Jannillea Glasgow and Shanisha Hector, amongst other girls, who were given the opportunity to go to Australia for a season. You’ve seen how it helped Glasgow. I'm not saying it's all because she went to Australia, but she would have gotten the opportunity to play more games, and this was when she was not in the West Indies setup. She came right out of Tasmania and got back into the team. And now she's scoring runs. I believe it helped that she got the opportunity to play a few more games than the other girls.

If they don't have international commitments, they need to be playing cricket. Going back home to train is not going to be enough. I strongly believe they need to play men’s cricket as well. If you examine the players historically who have been our best, especially the batters, they all played against men. Whenever there’s time, both those coming through the ranks and those already in the senior side should. It’ll give them a greater challenge, and it’s likely to speed up their development.

You have your ear to the ground. Do you have knowledge of players going the extra mile to improve their game and increase their chances of being successful?

Players may be doing it. I'll tell you what, in Barbados, I hold my players accountable. And I encourage them not to sit on their laurels and wait for the territorial boards or Cricket West Indies to support them in every facet. So I challenge them to spend their own money and pay someone. Pay someone to throw balls at you. Pay the money out of your own pocket to go to the gym and get a personal trainer, a nutritionist, and whatever you may need to become a better athlete. I don't know if the girls around the Caribbean are doing it.

Cricket West Indies has hired pathway coaches in each of the territories. So players may feel they don't need to do it because they have access to the pathway coaches. I'm not sure. But I am with you. I think players need to take accountability for their own improvement and do whatever needs to be done to get better. And not just to get better and be the best or one of the best in the Caribbean. Because they always say, you being the best player in the Caribbean and you're only averaging 25 or 27, while we are still not winning, means absolutely nothing. You need to look at what the best players in the world are doing. What are Laura Wolvaardt, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Ellyse Perry doing? What did Meg Lanning do? What is Hayley Matthews doing?

And I know for sure that Matthews is one who invests in herself. Robert Samuels is her personal batting coach, or at least he was in the last few years. And there were times when he would come to Barbados to do work with her. And whether or not the other girls are willing to invest in themselves and do the same thing, I don't know.

What are your responsibilities as Women's Cricket Officer with the Barbados Association?

I’m tasked with improving women's cricket, helping build the structure, providing more opportunities for girls to play, and growing the game in the country. I have a really good relationship with many of the girls in Barbados, and those around the Caribbean still reach out to me. So if they're willing to listen, I offer advice. And many of them are quite receptive. I also got the opportunity last CPL to mentor the Guyana Amazon Warriors team. So I got a chance to work with girls from outside of Barbados as well. 

What was the nature of the conversation that led to your return to the Barbados team for last month’s domestic season?

Well, it had very little to do with what I could do on the field. I retired two years ago, and I hardly played any cricket in between. But [the decision] was very much about guidance. When the coach reached out to me during the Bolivarian Games, he reminded me that Kycia and Kyshona Knight had both retired.

We discussed, and [based on] what was happening in Peru, we realized that they were missing someone with experience who understood the game. Obviously, they would have been hoping for contributions from me on the field, but it was more about guiding them (young players) and helping them to understand the game.

I was very reluctant to play. I think I said no a couple of times, but then when I thought about the impact I could have on the girls, at least as it relates to understanding the game, we felt it was very important for me to go. I know some people argue that I was probably taking up a spot from someone younger, but we felt I was coming in for one of the players who had just walked away.

And even though Barbados didn't win this year, we are in a better place. I think in years to come, you'll see Barbados dominating women's cricket again in the region. But what I really want to see is just good cricket overall, because if Barbados wins, Jamaica wins, or Trinidad wins, it doesn't really matter if West Indies cricket is still failing. So I hope that I've impacted the girls who are going to go on to play for the West Indies at some point. 

When you look at how things have progressed for women’s cricket in the Caribbean after the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup triumph, are you disappointed?

Very disappointed. And I would have been disappointed when I was still playing. We felt the girls weren't getting enough support or playing enough cricket. [Coming] out of 2016, I think we missed an opportunity to really propel women's cricket. And you’d have hoped that by now there would have been more age-group competitions. Cricket West Indies just announced that they've deferred the Under-16 Girls’ tournament to 2027. And that's if all things go well financially. 

I was very happy last year when CWI finally decided to separate the domestic competitions, therefore giving the players more playing time. Because of the financial situation, though, it's gone back to how it was in the old days. But yes, after winning that World Cup, you expected to see improved performances. 

Teams always said you can never write off a West Indies team. It was either Sophie Devine or Suzie Bates who said you never knew which West Indies team was going to show up. And for me, whilst that meant that there was still a little bit of fear in the back of their minds, it also meant that they always expected to dominate us in a series. 

After the 2016 World Cup, you wanted to see our cricket improve and our players start to dominate, with more of them playing franchise cricket. It is good to see Chinelle Henry, but you want to hear more West Indian names. You want to hear about the West Indies beating teams like South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan more often. You want Australia to want to play the West Indies more often.

If not for this Future Tours Programme, the West Indies probably still wouldn't be playing Australia. I think in my playing career, West Indies only played two series against Australia, which I think is because they probably didn't feel we were competitive enough. 

Things have changed. Off the field, more girls are contracted now. There are franchise contracts. There are girls in the ‘A’ team who are all contracted. They have single rooms, and they are now flying in business class. So off the field, there are some improvements, but how much those things impact the girls getting better on the field is the question. 

The contracts are one thing, but more needs to be done. And it will be a challenge in this financial situation. So it is disappointing to see that we haven't really grown since 2016. Maybe things are improving…very, very, very slowly.