– Four-match Youth ODI Series versus South Africa to commence on Boxing Day –
Cricket West Indies announced the match schedule for the Youth One-Day International Series between West Indies Rising Stars U19s and South Africa U19s. The teams will play four 50-over matches in St Vincent and the Grenadines from December 26 to January 3 at Arnos Vale Cricket Ground, and Cumberland Playing Field.
The West Indies and South African teams arrived at the Argyle International Airport on Monday, and the two teams are using the series as preparation for the 2022 ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup, which CWI is hosting from January 14 to February 5 in Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis, and Guyana.
According to West Indies Head Coach Floyd Reifer, “It’s great for us to have these matches as part of the build-up to the World Cup. We are really looking forward to this series against South Africa, as we are at the stage where it is important for the squad to play together, to see players in various roles, see how they respond to situations and how well they execute the plans we put in place.
“It is for us to also make sure we get the team going well together and have synergy, so the players fully understand each other. This is very crucial for us as we look to build the team energy and the team culture.
“I can’t stress enough how vital these matches are, and we will be taking them very seriously. We want to thank the Government and Cricket Association of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for working with our operations and medical teams over the past week to put things in place for us to get some much-needed playing time in the middle and preparations.”
The ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup will feature 16 teams in 48 matches. They are defending champions Bangladesh, England, Canada and the United Arab Emirates form Group A, with debutants Uganda placed in Group B alongside India, South Africa and Ireland.
Group C comprises Pakistan, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea and Group D sees host West Indies, Australia and Sri Lanka and Scotland.
The four-match series schedule-:
Play starts 9:30am (8:30 a.m. Jamaica Time)
December 26: 1st Youth ODI at Cumberland Playing Field
December 28: 2nd Youth ODI at Arnos Vale Stadium
December 30: 3rd Youth ODI at Cumberland Playing Field
January 3: 4th Youth ODI at Arnos Vale Stadium
West Indies Rising Stars U19s Squad
Ackeem Auguste (Captain) – left-hand bat
Giovonte Depeiza (Vice Captain) – right-hand bat/left-arm spin
Onaje Amory – right-hand bat/right-arm off-spin
Teddy Bishop – right-hand bat
Carlon Bowen-Tuckett – right-hand bat/wicket-keeper
Jaden Carmichael – right-hand bat/left-arm spin
McKenny Clarke – right-hand bat/right-arm fast
Rivaldo Clarke – right-hand bat/wicket-keeper
Jordan Johnson – left-hand bat/right-arm leg-spin
Johann Layne – right-hand bat/right-arm fast
Anderson Mahase – left-hand bat/left-arm spin
Matthew Nandu – left-hand opening bat/right-arm leg-spin
Shaqkere Parris – right-hand opening bat
Shiva Sankar – right-hand bat/right-arm medium-fast
Isai Thorne – right-hand bat/right-arm fast
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.
