…Guyanese Thorne, Dindyal included
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI), on Monday, announced the West Indies Rising Stars Men’s Under 19s squad for the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup. The 15th edition of the tournament will be played in South Africa from January 19 to February 11 2024.

Top-order batter, Stephan Pascal, has been named as Captain with Nathan Sealy, the slow bowling allrounder as Vice Captain. The 15-member squad features most of the players who toured Sri Lanka for three Youth One-Day Internationals (50-over matches) and two four-day “Test” matches in August and September.

The squad includes three players who played in the 2022 ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup which was staged in the West Indies. They are: fast bowler Isai Thorne, left-handed allrounder Nathan Edward and left-handed batter Jordan Johnson.

Thorne made his first-class debut for the West Indies Academy against Emerging Ireland last month and impressed with his pace. He took 12 wickets in two matches at an average of 6.16 per wicket. Johnson joined the West Indies A Team on the recent tour of South Africa where he made his first-class debut in the third and final four-day “Test” match.

The squad has assembled in Antigua for a one-week camp at the Coolidge Cricket Ground. During the camp they will have training and fitness sessions along with planning session and personal development workshops.

Lead Selector, Robert Haynes, said: “We have named a balanced squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup and we expect them to do very well in this prestigious international event. We had a good tour of Sri Lanka in August and September where the players gained valuable experience. This helped to prepare them for the upcoming assignment. Since that tour, we also had a camp in Trinidad where we played against the USA Under-19 and the Trinidad & Tobago Under-23 teams. They will be match-fit and mentally fully prepared when they journey to South Africa.”

Haynes added: “This is a fantastic opportunity for these young men to represent the West Indies and showcase their talent, playing against their peers, in front a global audience. This is a crucial stage in their development. They have received excellent preparation, help and guidance of the coaches and support staff, and we expect to see them do very well.”

For the tournament, the West Indies have been drawn alongside hosts South Africa, Scotland and England in Group B for their first round matches. All three matches will be played at the J.B. Marks Oval in Potchefstroom. Before that they will have warm-up matches against New Zealand and Nepal in Johannesburg.

India, who won the tournament in 2022 are placed in Group A with Bangladesh, Ireland and the USA. Group C features Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Namibia, while Group D is made up of Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand and Nepal. The top three sides from each group will progress to the Super Six phase to be played from 30 January to 3 February. The Semi-Finals will be on 6 and 8 February and the Final is on 11 February at Willowmore Park in Benoni.

FULL SQUAD:  Stephan Pascal (Captain) – right-handed bat, Nathan Sealy (Vice Captain) – right-handed bat/left-arm spin, Jewel Andrew – right-handed bat/wicket-keeper, Mavendra Dindyal – right-handed bat/right-arm leg-spin bowler, Joshua Dorne – right-handed bat, Nathan Edward – left-handed bat/left-arm fast bowler, Tarrique Edward – right-handed bat/right-arm off-spin bowler, Reon Edwards – left-handed bat/left-arm fast bowler, Deshawn James – right-handed bat/right-arm fast bowler, Jordan Johnson – left-handed bat, Devonie Joseph – left-handed bat/wicket-keeper, Raneico Smith – right-handed bat/right-arm fast bowler, Isai Thorne – right-handed bat/right-arm fast bowler, Steve Wedderburn – left-handed bat, Adrian Weir – right-handed bat.

Team Management: Rohan Nurse (Head Coach), Rohan Clarke (Assistant Coach), Nick Wilton (Assistant Coach), Dwain Gill (Team Manager), Dominic Angoy (Physiotherapist), Gregory Seale (Strength and Conditioning Coach).