With the weight of expectation squarely on the shoulders of captain Hayley Matthews, West Indies Women’s head coach Shane Deitz is hoping a fresh batch of players will rise to the occasion on their tour of England, not only to ease the load on their talismanic skipper but also to carve out a new identity for Caribbean women’s cricket.

The six-match white-ball tour — three T20 Internationals starting Wednesday, followed by three ODIs from May 30 — presents both a challenge and an opportunity for a team in the midst of transition.

"We’ve got to be competitive; that’s our ultimate goal,” Deitz said frankly after a chilly training session in England.

"We’ve just come from 46-degree heat in Pakistan, and now it’s 10 degrees here. So first, we need to acclimatise quickly, and then get out and try to be really competitive. We've got some new faces in the team, so there are a lot of opportunities for some girls to really push their claims to be more of a permanent member of the team in the squad," he added.

Hayley Matthews and Zaida James.

The tour comes on the heels of a frustrating T20 World Cup qualifying campaign, and though this series may not impact qualification standings, Deitz said its importance is immeasurable.

"Yeah, it's important to get the confidence back, but it's more about the process and how we go about playing cricket. We'll be trying to put in place a new style of play, particularly at T20s, which we did pretty well in the last World Cup. But we've got to take it another step further, and obviously ODI cricket hasn't been that good. So we've got to find a way we're going to be competitive for, obviously not this World Cup or ODIs, but the next one in four years' time," Deitz explained. 

He continued, "So that's the way we're going to develop our style of play to be competitive and beat the number one, two, and three teams in the world. We're ranked sixth in T20I and a lot lower now in ODI cricket, but my job is to win World Cups. That's what we're trying to do...win a World Cup.

Afy Fletcher (right) with Matthews and Shemaine Campbelle.

"And we can't play the way we've been playing over the last, you know, 10 years, so we've got to change the way we play, change our approach to make sure that we adopt a style of cricket to be able to beat Australia, England, India, South Africa, and New Zealand, all those top teams. We've had some glimpses of that. We've beaten all those teams in one-off games, but we just have to be a bit more consistent with it."

The absence of star all-rounders Deandra Dottin and Chinelle Henry leaves significant gaps, both in terms of firepower and experience. But with every absence comes an opening, and Deitz is urging others to grab it with both hands.

"We're missing probably two of the biggest hitters in world cricket, so that's obviously a big hole in anyone's team. But that just gives an opportunity for other players to step up and take more responsibility. We're relying on too few too often now, so the message is other girls need to step up and need to make a mark on international cricket. Like Chinnelle has done in the last, you know, 12 months, and like Qiana Joseph has probably done in the last eight months or so. We need more to step up and be a bit more consistent and put in match-winning performances," the Australian declared.

Aaliyah Alleyne

Among the players tipped for a bigger role is Zaida James, who has shown promise with both bat and ball, and Deitz also highlighted Afy Fletcher, whose consistent spin performances have been vital over the past 18 months.

"Yeah, I think Zaida James is starting to find her way into the team. She's made some good runs, and she's got a role to play with the ball, particularly in T20 cricket, so she's really stepping up as a young player. Afy Fletcher has been great for a long time; she's probably been the spearhead of our spin attack with Hayley, and when she bowls well, we win games, so she's got to bowl really well over here," Deitz said.

There’s also a spotlight on the next generation of pace — Cherry-Ann Fraser, Jannillea Glasgow, and Jahzara Claxton — all of whom are yet to fully establish themselves but are now being called upon to deliver. However, perhaps the most important cog in the pace attack, though, is Aaliyah Alleyne.

"So it's good to see them have an opportunity. AA [Aaliyah Alleyne] bowled brilliantly in the Pakistan qualification tour, and she's going to be the leading fast bowler now, so I expect her to really step up and make a difference. She's a really good T20 cricketer, so hopefully she can force her way into some franchise cricket tour after this tour," the coach ended.