Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has roped in former West Indies captain Courtney Walsh as consultant for the national women's side. Walsh's appointment comes as the side looks to qualify for the Women's T20 World Cup in September-October 2024.
Walsh is currently with the squad in the UAE, where they will play the qualifying tournament for the Women's T20 World Cup. The top two teams from the 10-team event, which starts on April 25, will qualify for the main event in Bangladesh. Zimbabwe have never played at the Women's T20 World Cup before.
Walsh, who once held the record for the most Test wickets (519), will be assisting head coach Walter Chawaguta. Between October 2020 and April 2023, Walsh was head coach of West Indies' women's team, and under his guidance, they reached the semi-final of the Women's ODI World Cup in 2022.
"We count ourselves fortunate and privileged to be able to bring in Courtney as a technical consultant for our campaign at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier in Abu Dhabi," ZC Managing Director Givemore Makoni said. "He is one of the world's greatest cricketers and we believe his experience at the highest level of the women's game in particular will boost our chances of securing one of the two spots up for grabs at the main global showpiece later in the year."
Zimbabwe are in Group B of the qualifier tournament, alongside Ireland, Netherlands, UAE and Vanuatu. Group A has Sri Lanka, Thailand, Scotland, Uganda and USA.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, after which the two finalists will meet on May 7. The two finalists will qualify for the Women's T20 World Cup irrespective of the result of the title clash.