Andre Coley Named Interim West Indies Women’s Coach as Shane Deitz Departs

Shane Deitz’s three-year spell as head coach of the West Indies women’s team ended on 31 October, and Andre Coley is back in a West Indies head-coach role as his stand-in. Cricket West Indies (CWI) made the change public on 3 November. Pakistan are Coley’s first opponents, and the backroom staff who worked under Deitz stay on to help him.

CWI said the parting with Deitz was agreed by both sides. Miles Bascombe, CWI’s director of cricket, said Deitz had told the board about his plans and that both parties agreed “a clean handover now was best for the team”. According to CWI, Deitz is leaving to take up a new opportunity. The board has not said what that is.

What Deitz leaves behind

Under Deitz, West Indies reached the semi-finals of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup twice in a row, in 2024 and again in 2026. Their most recent series was against Zimbabwe, who they beat 2-1 in the ODIs and 3-0 in the T20Is. In his farewell, Deitz spoke of "a successful three years", thanked the players, staff and CWI, and wished the team well.

A familiar figure in charge

Coley, a Jamaican, has held several posts in West Indies cricket. He was head coach of the West Indies side that finished third at the 2010 Under-19 World Cup and has also coached West Indies A. He is a former head coach of the West Indies men’s Test side and is still part of CWI’s high-performance programme. Bascombe thanked Coley for his “willingness to take on this assignment”.

What happens next

For now the appointment is only an interim one, and CWI has not named a permanent successor to Deitz. The dates, venues and formats of the Pakistan series were not part of the announcement. Bascombe said two semi-finals in a row are now the standard the group holds itself to.