Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 15/Nov 04:23

Windies Under-19s ready for Youth ODI series versus England

The West Indies Under-19 men's team will continue their preparations for the 2026 International Cricket Council Under-19 Men's World Cup scheduled for January-February when they face England's Under-19 team in a seven-match Youth One-Day International (ODI) series from November 16-December 1 at the National Cricket Stadium, Grenada. The 16-man young Windies squad includes two Trinidadian players in Aadian Racha and Brendan Boodoo, who won the TT Cricket Board's Best Youth Player of the Year award just last month. A November 14 Cricket West Indies (CWI) release said there will be three changes from the squad which got an exciting 4-3 series victory over Sri Lanka a few months ago. DeShawn James returns from injury while the pair of Tanez Francis and Kunal Tilokani were included after impressive performances in the regional Under-17 tournament. The trio of Afraz Ali Buhdoo, Micah Greenidge and Pajay Nelson will miss out against the English, but the release said they are expected to form part of a larger player pool from which the World Cup squad will be picked in a few months. That expanded player pool should also feature the exciting pair of dashing batsman Jewel Andrew and leg-spinner Micah McKenzie. Both players have been picked for the Leewards Islands Hurricanes team which will contest CWI's Regional Super50 tourney in Trinidad from November 19-29. To date, Andrew has eight caps for the West Indies senior team. Coach Rohan Nurse said the preceding series against the Sri Lankans was a good building block for the team. "We were really impressed with the resilience shown by the players in the last series, especially since it was the first time they had been together as a team," Nurse said, via the CWI release. "Those are elements that can’t necessarily be coached – they have to be developed within the group, and we’re quite happy with that. We want to build on it going forward." He said there's still room for improvement in certain departments. "One of the main things we've emphasized is maintaining intensity in all departments – batting, bowling and especially fielding. We want to create some kind of advantage in that area," Nurse said. "It all starts at the top from a batting viewpoint and being able to convert when we get starts. That's been a key focus in preparation. From a bowling standpoint, we've also worked on clearly defining roles and identifying who best suits which role." West Indies Under-19 team to face England: Shaquan Belle, Brendan Boodoo, Tyriek Bryan, Zachary Carter, Joshua Dorne, Earsinho Fontaine, Tanez Francis, R'Jai Gittens, DeShawn James, Vitel Lawes, Matthew Miller, Isra-el Morton, Jakeem Pollard, Aadian Racha, Kunal Tilokani, Johnathan Van Lange. Management team: Rohan Nurse (coach), Jerome Taylor (assistant coach), Nikita Miller (assistant coach), Clint St Hill (manager), Kwayne Dalrymple (physiotherapist), Shayne Cooper (strength & conditioning coach), Keshava Ramphal (team analyst). The post Windies Under-19s ready for Youth ODI series versus England appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.