Change at the top: West Indies announce new captain

Taylor - who is West Indies' most successful female player having led them to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title in 2016 and the semi-finals of the recent ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand - will play on and remain part of the new setup with Matthews now in charge.

Matthews has served as vice-captain under Taylor in the past and West Indies coach Courtney Walsh believed the time was right to promote the 24-year-old to the top job.

"The selection panel felt that it was time to make the change," Walsh said.

"We figured the timing was right with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup coming up early next year, if we were thinking of making any changes now would be the best time so that we give the new captain a couple of series under her belt before she enters into a World Cup.

"Hayley Matthews is young; she has longevity in the game, and she can lead the team for a longer time to get the experience and we are here to support her.

"For us it’s a win-win as we will have Stafanie to concentrate on her best cricket and passing on guidance to Hayley as she grows in the role of taking the team forward."

Matthews is looking forward to getting started in the new role, with West Indies' next series yet to be finalised and likely to take place later this year.

"I am both humbled and honoured to be given the opportunity to captain the West Indies Women’s Team," Matthews said.

"It is definitely an exhilarating feeling and I welcome the experience to lead and learn with open arms.

"This team has been very close to my heart from the beginning of my professional career eight years ago and the influence of Stafanie’s leadership throughout those eight years has played a major role in the player I am today.

"I eagerly anticipate working with the players to continue building on the progress in which the team has made thus far."

Taylor has scored more than 8,000 runs and played more than 250 white-ball matches for West Indies and Matthews was full of praise for the outgoing captain.

"I would like to thank Stafanie for her astounding leadership of the team over the years," Matthews added.

"We’ve accomplished some of our biggest milestones with her at the forefront and I look forward to continuing playing alongside her."