Looking ahead to the World Cup which officially begins on January 14, 2022, Shukri Conrad, the head coach of the South African Under-19 cricket squad, said: “There are heaps of talent in that West Indies side, and I think that they are going to give a bloody good show as well,” referring to the 2022 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, to be hosted by the West Indies January 14 – February 05, 2022.
He was spoke of the West Indies Under-19 cricket team which had just drawn the 4-match Youth One Day Internals Series against the South Africa Under-19 cricket team. Conrad spoke following the conclusion of the fourth Youth One Day International at the Arnos Vale Cricket Ground on Monday January 03, 2022.
According to Conrad, the short notice given to the Vincentian authorities did not make for ideal preparation, but “Given the current situation around the world, it was a good feeling to get out and play cricket, and had some really good competition in the Series. We are lucky to have gotten away with a shared result if the truth is to be told.”
Conrad said that there are still a lot of things to be learnt by the young players of both teams, and he commended Cricket West Indies “for going out of their way to make sure that this tour did take place.”
He also commended the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association, the grounds staff, the caterers, the hotel staff and bus operators, and the lone media personnel who found the time to cover the four matches; for making the opportunity to play a possibility, as both teams head into the 2022 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
“We will now focus earnestly on the World Cup. As coaches we always tend to look for positives and negatives, and sometimes the brutal truth is that probably there were not any. The positive is that we were able to get out and play. The positive is that there was great competition. The positive is that character got tested so when we are put under pressure in the World Cup we would all have had two weeks of it. It was also great that we were able to acclimatize as we were here for two weeks in the heat and humidity,” Conrad added.
He was pleased that “All of our guys got a run as it was always our aim to play everybody in the Series. Now our focus is squarely on the World Cup and preparation starts in earnest, and I am pretty confident that we will give a good showing.”
Conrad looked at the situation of the current West Indies senior team and the many issues surrounding it, pointing out that the players he saw in action during the Youth ODIs, is a positive sign that there is a future for West Indies cricket and world cricket.
He concluded: “It is a bit like South Africa. People must not tell us that there is not talent in our countries. I think that there is talent to burn in the West Indies. We can see Sir Curtly (Ambrose) hand in a lot of the quick bowlers, and the spinners have been really good. There are obviously some talented batters, they just need time in the middle and they will develop.”
