ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Teams & Groups
West Indies Team ProfileThe closest the young Caribbean side has come to winning the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup was in 2004 in Bangladesh when the side led by Dinesh Ramdin lost to Pakistan by 25 runs in the final.
Since then it has not had a tournament record to boast of, losing to Bangladesh by four wickets in the fifth place play-off semi-final in Colombo in February 2006 and being placed ninth in the 2008 event in Kuala Lumpur, after being eliminated by the eventual finalists, India and South Africa, in the group stages.
Andre Coley, the former Jamaica wicket-keeper, has been appointed as head coach for the tournament, following his success at U19 level with the Jamaica three-day and limited-over sides, and will be looking to skipper Andre Creary for inspiration on the field of play.
The West Indies prepared for the event by taking part in the President’s Cup in October 2009, alongside senior territorial teams. Although it failed to win a match the preparation was valuable and it came close to defeating Barbados, losing in the end by two wickets.
Left-handed opening batter Evin Lewis topped the batting averages for his side in that event, being the only player to pass fifty, while spinner Akeem Dewar showed promise with the ball, although the matches were hampered by bad weather.
Facing Pakistan, Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea in the group stages, it will be a tough challenge to make it through to the quarter finals.
However, the tournament has a very good track record for being a first international sighting of future stars of the West Indies team. Previous events have featured Jimmy Adams, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, so there will be plenty of fun for the spectators in trying to spot a future legend!
PLAYER PROFILE
Kraigg Brathwaite –
This highly Barbados batter, who made 73 on his first-class debut last year when aged just 16, is expected to be a huge star for his team at this tournament. He was called up to the West Indies Test squad against Bangladesh in July 2009 and was awarded a contract by the West Indies Cricket Board later in the year.
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