With a hectic 2026 schedule quickly approaching, the West Indies Women have begun an intensive eight-week training camp in Antigua to prepare themselves for a demanding year ahead of cricket.
The camp is designed to lay a strong foundation as the Maroon Warriors gear up for a demanding international schedule that features six tours, 15 ODIs, a Test match, and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. It started on Oct. 20 and is scheduled to end on Dec. 8.
The camp includes approximately 20 senior squad members and is structured around three pillars: strength and conditioning, individual skill development, team culture, and leadership. Small-group coaching is used to ensure individualized attention and high-performance standards.
West Indies Women’s head coach Shane Deitz emphasized the importance of the camp as the team looks to improve on its semi-final finish in the last T20 World Cup and achieve success across the various series.
“Individual skill development is the main focus.
“It’s also about getting our players focused on what they’re here to achieve, pushing harder than they’ve ever pushed before, and maintaining that motivation to train every day. We only get this one opportunity to do this period of training, and what we do now will determine our success next year,” Deitz said.
“One area we’ve got to get right is our strength and conditioning and team fitness. We need fast, athletic, and robust cricketers who can play the style of cricket we want, entertain the crowds, put on a massive show, and win lots of games, but also stay fit and healthy through a tough period.”
CWI’s Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe, said, “This is an example of the intentional investment being made in high-performance across all levels of West Indies cricket. The aim is to take a very individual approach to player development, providing each player with specific support in the areas that would allow them to take their game to the next level.”
“Whether it be skill development, strength and conditioning, or mental and leadership skills, this camp reflects our long-term objective of building a sustainable pathway to success. Initiatives like this reinforce our commitment to developing world-class cricketers capable of excelling on the global stage.”
The regional side will start the year by hosting Sri Lanka in February, followed by an all-format home series against Australia in March and April.
In May, they will travel to Ireland for a tri-series with the hosts and Pakistan before heading to England for the T20 World Cup.
After the tournament, they return to Ireland for a bilateral ODI series in July.
In September and October, they will play Zimbabwe in a white-ball tour and close off the year with another white-ball home series against Pakistan in December.
