Cricket West Indies appoints Bob Carter as batting consultant

Cricket West Indies has appointed veteran New Zealand coach Bob Carter as its batting consultant on a one-year contract. Carter will oversee men’s, women’s and age-group programmes, with a focus on raising technical standards ahead of major global tournaments

St John’s (Antigua):  Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Wednesday appointed veteran New Zealand coach Bob Carter as its batting consultant on an initial one-year contract. The appointment is aimed at elevating technical standards across the region ahead of crucial global tournaments.

Carter, who officially assumed his duties on September 1, will oversee CWI’s men’s, women’s and age-group development programmes. His immediate assignment includes a high-priority regional tour later this month across all six first-class territories — Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands — where he will engage directly with players and local coaches.

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The appointment comes at a critical juncture as West Indies prepare for a congested international calendar, including the Men’s ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier scheduled to be played in February and March 2027.

“West Indies cricket has a proud tradition of producing outstanding batsmen, and my job is to help build the base to produce future generations of world-class players. My focus has always been on supporting players and coaches to reach their full potential, and I am looking forward to working alongside the regional and high-performance coaches to help achieve that,” said Carter in a statement after taking up the role.

Carter, who played 60 first-class games and made 50 List A appearances, brings three decades of elite coaching expertise to the Caribbean, having served as High-Performance Coach with New Zealand Cricket (NZC) from 2012 to 2025.

His extensive resume also includes leading the New Zealand women’s team as head coach from 2019 to 2022, two stints as Blackcaps assistant coach, and senior administrative roles in county cricket with Northamptonshire in England.

Highlighting the long-term vision behind the move, CWI Director of Cricket Miles Bascombe stated that the initiative behind roping in Carter focuses heavily on strengthening the regional coaching framework alongside individual player development.

“West Indies teams will participate in at least six global events over the next 24-30 months, including the Men’s World Cup Qualifier next February. The steps we take now are intended to lay the groundwork for success. Bob’s immediate job is to raise the technical standard heading into these events.

“But the measure of this appointment is not what our top six look like in twelve months. It is whether the coaches he works with come out of it better at teaching batting than they went in, and whether that reaches the coaching education modules the rest of the region is taught from. That is what lasts,” he added.