West Indies Women’s team manager Sheena Gooding has hailed the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s High Performance workshop as an eye-opener and a meaningful step toward elevating the women’s game globally.
Held in Lahore alongside the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier, the workshop brought together High Performance managers, women’s cricket heads, coaches, and team staff from both full and associate ICC Member nations. The gathering served as a platform for exchanging best practices, addressing shared challenges, and fostering deeper collaboration under the theme “Collaboration and Competitiveness.”
For Gooding, one of the standout moments came during a presentation by Cricket South Africa.
“It’s been a really good experience. The presentation by Cricket South Africa was really interesting. What stood out for me was that they travel with an educator for their U19s programme. I thought that was brilliant. Every time we look at fixtures for our U19 teams, the topic of players missing out on school always comes up, and I think this is a brilliant solution to that particular challenge,” Gooding said.
She also expressed interest in adopting South Africa’s Talent Acceleration Camps model.
“It’s something simple that we could also look into replicating in our different regions,” Gooding noted.
The workshop, part of the ICC’s broader strategy to enhance the depth and quality of the women’s game, focused on high performance systems, strength and conditioning, and preparation for the upcoming ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh and Nepal.
A key highlight was a session on “best practices,” where representatives discussed the significance of playing both 50-over and T20 formats at the U19 level. For many attending nations, these insights offered a roadmap for building more comprehensive development pathways.
Craig Wallace, head coach of the Scotland women’s team, echoed similar sentiments, noting the unique opportunity to engage with colleagues across the cricketing spectrum.
“I thought it was brilliant to get everyone in one room and speak about the different things that they are working on and going through in their separate regions. It’s challenging sometimes as Associates to come up with ideas, programmes, structures—but hearing how others are solving similar problems helps all of us,” Wallace said.
For Ayesha Ashhar, General Manager of International Women’s Cricket at the Pakistan Cricket Board, the workshop served as both a learning opportunity and a source of motivation.
“This workshop was a great initiative. It’s been very educational to all the people who attended it. We’ve been given insight on how to put together plans for programmes, whether it’s on the field—batting, bowling, fitness—or administratively off the field,” Ashhar shared.
“It’s been very helpful and also a lot of fun to listen to everyone and the challenges they are overcoming in their different regions. It’s a great initiative by the ICC and I’m grateful to have been a part of this workshop.” Sportsmax
