Saint Lucia’s Crafton Handed CWI Contract

The latest Saint Lucian cricketer called up to the West Indies team has now been named among 14 women receiving historic year-long contracts from Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Monday. All-rounder Nerissa Crafton joins fellow West Indies player Zaida James, who is presently on a retainer contract with the regional governing body. A left-handed batter and medium-pace bowler, the 26-year-old ‘Breezy’ was part of the squad that competed in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in October. West Indies women’s head coach Shane Deitz said that Crafton’s selection was based on a strong regional campaign, followed by an impressive showing at a recent training camp in Antigua & Barbuda. CWI calls the award of the contracts “a groundbreaking milestone in West Indies cricket.” This first-time initiative is a significant step forward in CWI’s strategic commitment to Elite and High Performance cricket and signals a continued investment in the growth of the women’s game in the Caribbean.  The addition of these 14 contracts brings the total of contracted regional players to 104 for the year, and 164 in total including senior and Academy players. CWI Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe, noted the significance of this initiative: “Awarding contracts to these talented...