ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — West Indies Under-19s Head Coach Graeme West does not believe the side’s wretched results in last month’s Tri-Nations Series is cause for major concern.
In fact, the Englishman said the campaign had provided a crucial learning curve for the young Windies, and had shed an important light on areas which needed to be improved ahead of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa from January 17 to February 9.
The Kimani Melius-led unit lost four of their six matches in the 50-over series in Antigua, which was also contested by England Under-19s and Sri Lanka Under-19s.
“The encouraging aspect of the Tri-Series was that the team got into strong positions in five out of the six games that were played — the bowling unit functioned well and was backed up by some impressive fielding that was enhanced by the introduction of fielding specialist, Julien Fountain,” West contended.
“The batsmen came out of the series with a better understanding of the skills they will need to deliver in order to achieve the team targets that have been set — and the camp [in Johannesburg starting Saturday] will certainly focus heavily in these areas.”
He added: “The six games have given each player a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities they will need to fulfil for the team to succeed.
“Equally as important was the time the players and coaches spent together to discuss, review and reflect on the cricket that was played, and identify how each player can move their game forward and give more to the team.”
West Indies Under-19s departed the Caribbean on New Year’s Day to begin preparations for the World Cup, which they won back in 2016 with Shimron Hetmyer at the helm.
The one-week camp in Johannesburg will precede the team’s two official warm-up matches that will see them take on Canada on January 13 and Scotland two days later.
West said the camp formed a crucial component of the squad’s preparations, ensuring “the players receive ample time to acclimatise and, more importantly, work on the focus areas that came out of the Tri-Series”.
West Indies Under-19s have been installed in a tough Group B headlined by three-time winners Australia, along with England and minnows Nigeria.
At the last showpiece two years ago in New Zealand, West Indies lost two of their three preliminary round matches to miss out on a place in the quarter-finals.
SQUAD – Kimani Melius (captain), Nyeem Young, Ashmead Nedd, Leonardo Julien, Kevlon Anderson, Daniel Beckford, Matthew Forde, Joshua James, Antonio Morris, Mbeki Joseph, Avinash Mahabirsingh, Kirk McKenzie, Ramon Simmonds, Matthew Patrick, Jaden Seales
