Young Windies open Super50, World Cup preparation
ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – West Indies Under-19s will gather in Grenada next week to begin preparation for the Regional Super50 which bowls off next January.
A 20-member preliminary squad will undergo training from December 9-20, and will also receive physical assessment along with life skill sessions and mental preparation.
A management team, led by head coach Graeme West and comprising Dwain Gill, Anthony Gray, Khevyn Williams and Zephyrinus Nicholas, will oversee the camp.
“This initial camp is to prepare a team for the Regional Super50 as was done the last two years and we will also have a pre-tournament camp for the final team [from] January 1721,” said West Indies Cricket Board project officer, Rawl Lewis.
The Under-19s will do battle in Group A of the Super50 which runs from January 24 to February 18 in Antigua and Barbados.
Title-holders Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Windward Islands Volcanoes and visiting English County, Kent Spitfires, have also been installed in Group A.
Group B, meanwhile, comprises last year losing finalists Barbados Pride, Guyana Jaguars, Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners, Jamaica Scorpions and ICC Americas.
The tournament will serve as a part of the build-up for the Under-19s as they ready themselves for the defence of their ICC Youth World Cup title captured earlier this year in Bangladesh.
However, Lewis said the Super50 was only a smart part of the intended preparation for the squad.
“A comprehensive programme has been developed for the 2018 World Cup preparation which started with the regional Under-17 and 19 tournaments over the summer,” the former West Indies player said.
“The 23-month programme will include a mini-series with New Zealand (three-match series) in January 2017, just before the World Cup.”