Barbadian Hayley Matthews has returned to captain the West Indies Women in a One-Day International Series against Sri Lanka Women.
The three-match series will be played from February 20 to 25 at the National Cricket Stadium in St George’s, Grenada. The itinerary will also include three T20 Internationals.
A release from Cricket West Indies (CWI) said Matthews was “fully recovered from the shoulder injury that sidelined her last June and caused her to miss the Women’s Caribbean Premier League”.
She will be supported by newly appointed vice-captain Chinelle Henry, who takes over the role from veteran wicketkeeper Shemaine Campbelle.
“Henry’s promotion recognises her growing leadership qualities and consistent performances, both for the West Indies and in franchise leagues across the world, marking a new chapter in the team’s leadership structure,” the release said.
The Maroon Warriors also welcome back all-rounder Deandra Dottin into the fold after injury kept her away from the team for much of their 2025 commitments, including the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in Pakistan, as well as subsequent series in England followed by the home series against South Africa.
Cricket West Indies Director of Cricket Miles Bascombe expressed his delight at hosting the start of the Maroon Warriors’ international assignments for 2026 saying.
“This home series is a cornerstone event, not just for team preparation but for the continued elevation of women’s cricket across the Caribbean. Every match played here is an investment in our future. It is about providing a visible, high-performance pathway that shows every young woman in the region what is possible and we are committed to the mission of growing the game at every level, and series like this are essential to that mission,” he said.
“We are thrilled to have Chinelle Henry as our new vice-captain to support captain Hayley Matthews in leading the side and express our thanks to Shemaine Campbelle who previously held the vice-captaincy. Playing in front of our home fans in Grenada adds a profound layer of significance so we want our team to feel the pride of the Maroon legacy and feed of that energy to inspire the next generation of West Indies stars.”
Head Coach Shane Deitz is relishing the challenge of facing Sri Lanka and says the squad is eager to make the most of home conditions.
“We’re excited to have this series against Sri Lanka, who are a really good team. They beat us in the ODI series in Sri Lanka back in 2024, so we owe them one and now we get them on our home turf.”
Sri Lanka are ranked sixth in ODIs compared to the West Indies at nine. The regional side has been steadily building capacity ahead of upcoming international assignments both at home and away and their training was supplemented with two high-performance camps in Antigua last year, one in August and the other, an eight-week camp, held from October to December.
Additionally, 15 of the region’s female cricketers, who are a part of the wider women’s player pool, embarked on a specialised training camp last August at the Super Kings Academy in Chennai, India.
Full squad: Hayley Matthews (captain), Chinelle Henry (vice captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Jahzara Claxton, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Jannillea Glasgow, Realeanna Grimmond, Shawnisha Hector, Qiana Joseph, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Shunelle Sawh, Stafanie Taylor.
Team Management Unit: Shane Deitz (head coach), Sheena Gooding (manager), Ryan Austin, Damien Wright and Shane Dowrich (assistant coaches), Ashley Stephens (physiotherapist), Hector Martinez Charles (strength & conditioning coach), Dr Nadine Sammy (performance coach), Nicholas Maitland (media & content officer). (PR/SAT)
Series Schedule:
1st ODI – Friday, February 20 – 9:30 a.m.
2nd ODI – Sunday, February 22 – 9:30 a.m.
3rd ODI – Wednesday, February 25 – 9:30 a.m.
1st T20I – Saturday, February 28 – 1 p.m.
2nd T20I – Sunday, March 1 – 1 p.m.
3rd T20I – Tuesday, March 3 – 1 p.m.
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