The West Indies Under-19 cricket team currently in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to play the South Africa Under-19 team, has settled quite nicely. This is according to Head Coach Floyd Reifer on Friday afternoon during an interview.
“The team has settled in very well. The last couple of net sessions we had were very good especially yesterday’s session where we had a very good gym session and after that went into the nets in the afternoon,” Reifer stated.
Speaking of the bowlers, Reifer is of the opinion that “the bowlers bowled aggressively, hit the lines and lengths very hard, the batters are doing very well. We still ensure that they get into the drills practicing their strong shots that they would want to play in the game.
“All is going well although the pitches are a bit slow maybe because of short notice they guys had to prepare the pitch.”
On Thursday Reifer said that the pitches used were good for batting and bowling so “we are happy with the progress of the boys. These youngsters understand what they represent and who they represent. They know that they represent the 6 – 8 million people in the Caribbean, they know they represent the millions of people that follow West Indies cricket around the world, as well so they know what they are playing for.”
He added that the players know the importance of the world cup and have been preparaing very well, mentally and physically, “even off the field they are eating better hydrating better so they understand being the elite athletes.”
Reifer is confident that the players are on the right road of development and have come a long way as to where they started to their present level of physical and mental fitness.
He applauded the vast improvement and development of the players “and is good to see these young men have adjusted and adapted to the lifestyle of being a professional, and the conversations that they are having amongst one another; very mature conversations.”
Much emphasis has and is being placed on the tactical aspects of the game, with plenty of focus on game awareness so each player understands his role going forward.
Robertson S. Henry is a multi-time award winning sports journalist from Saint Lucia, currently residing in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. His coverage of sporting events both locally and regionally, not just landed him the Sports Journalist of the Year Award on numerous occasions, but recognition from the International Olympic Committee in 2005.
Henry began his fulltime career in journalism with the now defunct Crusader Newspaper in 1994, and worked with the Voice Newspaper until 2007. He established the sports website sportcaraibe, and believes “sports is the fourth pillar in the socio-economic development of the Caribbean.”
Henry has also produced work for a number of regional newspapers including the Trinidad Guardian, Stabroek Newspaper of Guyana, and in 2010 did a photo-shoot of Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke for the Australian Herald.
