ICC U19 Cricket World Cup…
ROHAN Nurse, Head Coach of the West Indies U19 team says financial constraints have changed how his side is preparing for the upcoming ICC U19 World Cup.
He however stated that the side has adjusted and the team is well prepared.
The head coach was at the time speaking on the Andrew Mason and guest podcast in Barbados.
“As it relates to preparation, preparation has gone as well as we could have hoped, given the financial constraints that we are experiencing at the moment. We have adapted [sic] a slightly different model from the past where the majority of preparation work is being done in the players local territory [sic] with the pathway coaches and franchises as well.”
He said while it is not what they are accustomed to, it has borne fruit in recent bilateral series, adding, “Thus far it has helped us because obviously it would have played a major part in us having two series win early in the year against Sri Lanka and against England, so we are quite happy with how that process is going and off the back of two very good series performances, there is high hopes in terms of what this team can achieve and we are quite happy with preparation and construct of the side going into Namibia.”
The competition will make 10 years since the West Indies last title win at the youth ICC competition and the coach says they hope to start well and allow the momentum to take them through to the final
The 2026 ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup will take place in Namibia and Zimbabwe from January 15 to February 6 2026.
Captain Joshua Dorne, who represented the region at the competition in the 2024 edition, said, “I think it is just for us to trust our preparation and know we are on the back of two very good series wins. It’s just about trusting our preparation, our routines and me as a leader bring the guys together on and off the field. We would have been preparing at [the] National Sports Counsel [sic] with the pathway coach in various sessions, prior to Christmas and started back after Christmas, we had it difficult with the weather, but it has been going pretty well. It’s about not putting too much pressure, but playing what is in front of me and just executing better.”
The skipper is supported by Guyanese Jonathan Van Lange who is the vice-captain, along with the likes of Jewel Andrew, Guyanese Shamar Apple, Zachary Carter, Micah McKenzie, Matthew Miller and Jakeem Pollard
The 15-member squad is filled with players who were part of the regional youth side’s Youth One-Day international series against England and Sri Lanka in August and September, which they won 5-2 and 4-3 respectively.
The West Indies have been drawn in Group D alongside South Africa, Afghanistan and Tanzania.
All group matches will be played at the High-Performance Oval in Windhoek, Namibia.
Ahead of the tournament, they will play warm-up matches against Ireland and Japan in Windhoek.
The top three teams from each group will advance to the Super Six phase followed by the Semi-Finals on 3 and 4 February, and the Final on 6 February at the Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe.
