BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Coach of the West Indies Under-19 Team, Roddy Estwick, says the upcoming tour of Bangladesh will be a test of his team’s progress and development.
The West Indies played against Bangladesh in Guyana last month in a hard-fought seven-match series which the visitors won 4-3. The Windies were at one stage trailing 1-3, but rebounded to win back-to-back matches, before losing the final game.
They will now make a trip to Bangladesh from December 1 to 21 where they will play another series of seven matches. Both teams are preparing for the International Cricket Council’s Under-19 World Cup which will be played in the United Arab Emirates in February, 2013.
"This team is a work in progress and we will look to continue to work and look to continue to build. The fitness and the strength are areas we need to work on as well. All the players have programmes which they are working on and we believe we will have a better showing over in Bangladesh," Estwick told WICB Media.
"We are building blocks towards the World Cup and we are looking at ways to improve. Bangladesh will be a gauge as to where we are. We are trying to get a unit going and we are trying to build team spirit and camaraderie and to have the players understand their roles and responsibilities."
During the recent series the West Indies used 17 players on a rotational basis. Estwick said the six fast bowlers – right-armers Marquino Mindley, Ray Jordan, Jofra Archer and Alzarri Joseph; along with left-armer Preston McSween and Jerome Jones – were most impressive.
"We have a very good crop of fast bowlers and this is good for West Indies cricket. We were playing in spinner-friendly conditions but I felt the fast bowlers really stood out," Estwick said.
"Jordan and Archer have very good pace; Mindley and McSween get the ball to swing a lot, while Jones did a bit more with the ball both ways and got a hat-trick. The young 16-year–old Alzarri Joseph is tall and he gets good bounce and carry and has a very good off-cutter – so these were all very good signs. They are all different and all bowled very well."
Estwick said there was work to be done in the batting department.
"We only batted 50 overs once and that was on a very good pitch at Albion in Berbice. The ground-staff there should be congratulated for preparing a fantastic surface. The batting is a key area where we need to improve quickly and we will be working on that during this upcoming trip," Estwick said.
"The bowling was really good and the fielding was good as well. We had our moment where we played some really good cricket – but everyone was disappointed to lose the series in the end."
Estwick added: "The focal point is the World Cup coming up early next year and we want to make sure we are ready and fully prepared when we go there next year. Therefore, that makes this upcoming trip to Bangladesh an important one as we believe we will be playing in similar conditions to those we are likely to encounter in the UAE."
Tour Schedule – December 2013
Monday, 2nd: Arrive in Dhaka
Thursday, 5th: warm-up match – Sylhet or Chittagong
Saturday, 7th: 1st ODI vs Bangladesh Under-19 – Sylhet or Chittagong
Monday, 9th: 2nd ODI vs Bangladesh Under-19 – Sylhet or Chittagong
Thursday, 12th: 3rd ODI vs Bangladesh Under-19 – Sylhet or Chittagong
Friday, 13th: 4th ODI vs Bangladesh Under-19 – Sylhet or Chittagong
Monday, 16th: 5th ODI vs Bangladesh Under-19 – Dhaka
Wednesday, 18th: 6th ODI vs Bangladesh Under-19 – Dhaka
Friday, 20th: 7th ODI vs Bangladesh Under-19 – Dhaka
Saturday, 21st: depart Dhaka