ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Exciting Guyanese pacer Isai Thorne and promising Jamaican left-handed batsman Jordan Johnson headline the 15-member West Indies squad for the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup from January 11 to February 19 in South Africa.
Cricket West Indies announced yesterday that Thorne and Jordan are two of three players in the squad returning from the previous World Cup two years ago in the Caribbean, with the other being St Maarten left-handed all-rounder Nathan Edward.
Dominican batsman Stephan Pascal was named captain, and Barbadian left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Nathan Sealy was named his deputy in the squad that features most of the players who were a part of the Tour of Sri Lanka for three Youth One-day Internationals and two Youth Tests in August and September.
“We have named a balanced squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup, and we expect them to do very well in this prestigious international event,” lead selector Robert Haynes said in a CWI news release.
“We had a good tour of Sri Lanka in August and September when the players gained valuable experience. This helped to prepare them for the upcoming assignment.” He added: “Since that tour, we also had a camp in Trinidad, where we played against the (United States) Under-19 and the Trinidad & Tobago Under-23 teams.
“(The players) will be match-fit and mentally and fully prepared when they journey to South Africa.”
Thorne made his first-class debut for the Cricket West Indies Academy in their two matches against Emerging Ireland last month and impressed with his pace, taking 12 wickets at an average of 6.16 apiece.
Johnson got an opportunity to gain valuable experience of the conditions in South Africa when Guyanese batsman Kevlon Anderson encountered visa problems and was unable to take his place in the West Indies A Team on their recent tour there.
Johnson made his first-class debut against South Africa A in the third and final four-day “Test” at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, one of the venues for the tournament.
West Indies Under-19s will feature on the opening day of the tournament against hosts South Africa on January 19 next year at J.B. Marks Oval in the city of Potchefstroom, where they will also face Scotland on January 24 and meet England two days later in Group B of the tournament. They will also play two warm-up matches in Johannesburg against New Zealand on Sunday, January 14, at the Braamfischer Oval, and Nepal on Tuesday, January 16, at St Stithians.
The squad is in Antigua for a one-week camp at the CWI-owned Coolidge Cricket Ground, where they will have training and fitness sessions along with planning sessions and personal development workshops.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for these young men to represent the West Indies and showcase their talent, playing against their peers, in front of a global audience,” Haynes, the former Jamaica captain and West Indies leg-spinner, said in the news release.
“This is a crucial stage in their development. They have received excellent preparation, help, and guidance from the coaches and support staff, and we expect to see them do very well.”
The ICC, the sport’s world organising body, announced earlier this month that the 16 teams in the tournament will be divided into four groups, each consisting of four teams, for the preliminary phase of matches from January 13 to 21.
The top three teams from each group will advance to the second stage of the tournament dubbed the Super Six stage, where two groups of six teams will be created, with the top three teams from Groups A and D forming one group, and the top three teams from Groups B and C forming the other. During the Super Six stage, each team will have two matches to play, facing the two teams from the other group based on their positions in the initial group stage. The top two teams from each Super Six group will qualify for the semi-finals, with the winners of this knock-out round sealing their place in the Final, which will be played on Sunday, February 11 at Willowmoore Park in the city of Benoni.
The 15th edition of the global youth showpiece was moved from Sri Lanka earlier this month, after the ICC provisionally suspended Sri Lanka Cricket on November 23 because of extensive government interference in the SLC’s administration.
Squad:
Stephan Pascal (captain), Nathan Sealy (vice-captain), Jewel Andrew, Mavendra Dindyal, Joshua Dorne, Nathan Edward, Tarrique Edward, Reon Edwards, Deshawn James, Jordan Johnson, Devonie Joseph, Raneico Smith, Isai Thorne, Steve Wedderburn, Adrian Weir.
