ST JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC) – Cricket West Indies (CWI) has begun the year with three groundbreaking high-performance initiatives aimed at elevating the standard of cricket in the region.

The initiatives brought together international expertise and regional talent in an unprecedented effort to strengthen both playing and coaching capabilities.

The first two initiatives focus on advanced batting techniques against spin bowling and enhancing spin bowling capabilities with a focus on wrist spin.

The specialised High-Performance Batting Spin and Spin Bowling Camp features 30 of the region’s most promising players and will run from January 11 until January 17.

Under the guidance of Chennai Super Kings Academy head coach, Sriram Krishnamurthi and spin bowling coach Amar Rashid, the six-day intensive programs aim to refine participants’ skills.

For players like Matthew Nandu (Guyana), Kirk McKenzie (Jamaica), and Kevin Wickham (Barbados), this camp builds on their experience at the Chennai Super Kings Academy in India last December, where they trained alongside four other West Indies players.

The third initiative is a coaching symposium, which was held at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua from January 13 to 15.

The symposium aimed to enhance the skillsets of regional franchise coaches, while broadening their knowledge to support franchise and international players’ development.

The symposium’s key objectives included bringing clarity to coaches on the requirements for developing and managing players at the franchise level to meet the West Indies brand.

It also aimed at empowering and enabling a collaborative learning community among coaches to achieve world-class outcomes.

Eleven coaches from the six franchises attended the symposium, along with two coaches from the Combined Campuses and Colleges team, which featured West Indies head coach Daren Sammy as one of six presenters over the three days.

Coaches from the Chennai Super Kings Academy joined CWI Coaching Development Consultant James Davidson in delivering sessions.

In attendance were 11 franchise coaches and two from the Combined Campuses and Colleges team. The symposium provided a platform for knowledge exchange and emphasised creating a pathway for coaching excellence in the region.

CWI Director of Cricket Miles Bascombe praised the three initiatives.

“These parallel programs represent a strategic investment in West Indies cricket’s future.

“By bringing together international expertise with our regional talent, we are developing skills and building a sustainable cricket ecosystem. The combination of specialised player development through our High-Performance Camp and the elevation of coaching standards through the symposium creates a powerful framework for success,” Bascombe said.

“Particularly exciting for us is the way we have connected our recent initiatives, like the Chennai Super Kings Academy experience, with these new programs to create continuous development pathways.

“This comprehensive approach ensures we’re developing both our current and next generation of cricket professionals in alignment with modern cricket demands,” he added.