Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been named as the new head coach of USA Women, as well as their women’s under-19 team.
The 47-year-old has been based in Florida since 2005 and replaces former Australia wicketkeeper Julia Price, whose contract wasn’t renewed after USA Cricket determined that the national team’s head coach should be based in the country all year round.
The former West Indies batter, who scored more than 10,000 Test runs, begins in the role immediately, with USA Under-19s set to take part in the Cricket West Indies Under-19 Rising Stars T20 Championship in Trinidad and Tobago.
“The women’s game is something I am a huge advocate of, and I have followed the progress of the USA Women’s national team with keen interest,” said Chanderpaul, who has signed a one-and-a-half-year deal.
“I’ve enjoyed being involved in American cricket over the years as a resident of Orlando, so to be given this opportunity to become the head coach for USA Cricket is an incredible one.
“I’m really looking forward to using my 20-plus years of international cricket and my recent coaching experiences, to help the women’s teams progress to World Cups in years to come, particularly the inaugural Under-19 World Cup in January.”
In the immediate future, Chanderpaul is set to coach Jamaica Tallawahs in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League, while he joins former international teammate Courtney Walsh on the women’s international coaching circuit: he is West Indies’ head coach.
Richard Done, USA Cricket’s operations director, added that Chanderpaul’s “depth of experience will be invaluable, not only in his primary role, but to the development of the wider high-performance player and coaching pathways in the USA”.