Four of six territorial visits completed by newly appointed batting consultant Bob Carter
ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Oct 19, CMC – A philosophy of refinement over revolution is paying dividends for West Indies cricket.
As Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) High-Performance Batting Tour wraps up its fifth leg in Jamaica today, the programme is already being hailed as a success, having reached approximately 60 emerging batters and dozens of regional coaches with a focus on individualised development.
The tour, which began on September 24 and concludes in Antigua from October 23–26, has completed visits to the Windward Islands, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Led by newly appointed CWI Batting Consultant Bob Carter and High-Performance Coach Rohan Nurse, the four-day camps are designed to sharpen the skills of the region’s most promising talent while simultaneously building the capacity of local coaches.
A key feature of the programme has been Carter’s approach to player development. Rather than implementing wholesale changes to a batter’s technique, the focus is on identifying the small adjustments that can lead to significant gains.
“No one likes change, but people don’t mind tweaking something,” Carter explained. “My approach is to identify the one per cent improvement that could make all the difference to a player’s performance and output.”
This methodology has resonated with both players and coaches across the territories. A Barbados coach praised Carter for “underscoring simplicity and holding players to a high standard,” while a coach in Guyana noted the timeless nature of the advice: “The fundamentals don’t change. How you execute that is how you will become successful or remain successful.”
For the players, the intensity and structure of the sessions have been a standout. West Indies under-19 top-order batsman Zachary Carter noted the difference from his regular training.
“The intensity and standards of the sessions were higher than what I’m used to,” he said. “They were more structured and challenging, with a strong focus on technique, decision-making, and my bat swing.”
Shadrack Descarte, a St. Lucia and Windward Islands all-rounder, came away with renewed confidence.
“I came away confident that I have what it takes to perform well and adapt to any playing conditions,” he stated. “It simply requires a dedicated approach to how we train.”
The benefits extend beyond the players, with local coaches progressing from observation to active coaching over the four days.
Cleton Burnett, a CWI Pathway Coach in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, highlighted the value of the collaborative approach.
“A lot of the things he spoke about are not necessarily new knowledge in terms of technique, but the methods, and how we go about assisting players, not necessarily changing them but, as he would say very often, tweaking.”
Carter believes the programme has provided a sustainable model for territories to adopt.
“They don’t have to rely on CWI all the time,” he said. “There are some excellent coaches in the region, and they have now seen what a four-day programme looks like. We’ve given them a template, so all they need to do now is replicate that approach.”
The call from the territories is now for even more. Players and coaches have requested longer, more frequent camps and an expansion of the programme to include younger age groups and female players.