Bridgetown, Barbados – The members West Indies Under-19 squad has assembled in Barbados for a one-week camp as they prepare for a tour of India next month. The players will spend a week at the Sagicor High Performance Centre at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies.
The players will be under the guidance of team’s management unit led by Head Coach Roddy Estwick, Assistant Coach Stuart Williams, Team Manager Courtney Walsh, as well as the staff of the Sagicor HPC.
The WICB Selection Committee named a squad of 19 players for the camp following the recent WICB Regional Under-19 Tournament in Guyana.
Several members of the squad were part of the tours of Dubai and Florida earlier this year, while six players earned selection for the first time. The new faces are: batsmen Emmanuel Lett, Bryan Gayle, Akeal Hosein and Chanderpaul Hemraj; along with left-arm spinner Larry Edward and fast bowler Marquino Mindley.
Estwick said the camp was organised to do full assessments of the players and to continue the good work which was started by the team earlier this year when they beat Australia Under-19 in the three-day match and 50 Over series in Dubai in April, and hammered the USA Under-19s in four 50 Over matches in Fort Lauderdale last month.
According to the Head Coach, the overall aim is to be "fully ready mentally and physically" for the upcoming trip to the sub-continent and "build blocks" towards winning the International Cricket Council’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup, slated for Australia in August, 2012.
"We are looking at all the technical issues which came out of the tournament in Guyana and look to see how we can correct any faults and enhance those skills which the players have. During this camp we will have a strong bias toward playing spin bowling… a lot of emphasis will be placed on how to approach spin bowling, which will be very important for the lads as they prepare to go off to India. As we know, in India, you can expect to get pitches which will favour slow bowling," said the former Barbados seam bowler.
"This is a talented group of players and they all did well in the tournament. The majority played before in Dubai and Florida, but we have a few new players who have joined the group and it is important that everyone understands what we’re aiming to achieve and that we all work together for West Indies.
Estwick added: "This camp we will be doing a lot of videoing as it is very important that the players see themselves and make improvements in their game. We know the areas we are looking to strengthen and the tour of India will give us a gauge of where we are and where we need to be to win the World Cup next year and bring it back to the people of the West Indies."
FULL SQUAD:
Ronsford Beaton (Guyana): right-hand bat/right-arm fast bowler
Amir Khan (Guyana): right-hand bat/right-arm leg-spinner
Chanderpaul Hemraj (Guyana): left-hand bat
Derone Davis (Trinidad and Tobago): left-hand bat/left-arm spinner
Akeal Hosein (Trinidad and Tobago): left-hand bat/left-arm spinner
Steven Katwaroo (Trinidad and Tobago): right-hand bat/wicket-keeper
Emmanuel Lett (Trinidad and Tobago): right-hand bat/right-arm off-spinner
Marquino Mindley (Jamaica): right-hand bat/right-arm fast bowler
Donovan Nelson (Jamaica): left-hand bat/right-arm leg-spinner
John Campbell (Jamaica): left-hand bat/right-arm off-spinner
Bryan Gayle (Jamaica): right-hand bat
Sunil Ambris (Windward Islands): right-hand bat/wicket-keeper
Kavem Hodge (Windward Islands): right-hand bat/left-arm spinner
Larry Edward (Windward Islands): left-hand bat/left-arm spinner
Kraigg Brathwaite (Barbados): right-hand bat/right-arm off-spinner
Jerome Jones (Barbados): left-hand bat/left-arm fast bowler
Anthony Alleyne (Barbados): left-hand bat/right-arm off-spinner
Justin Greaves (Barbados): right-hand bat/right-arm fast-medium
Kyle Mayers (Barbados): left-hand bat/right-arm medium-fast