Guyanese Paul, Yadram in WI U-19 team for Super50

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) on Thursday announced the West Indies Under-19 squad to participate in the upcoming Regional Super50 tournament. The 14-member squad includes five players who were part of the team, which won the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh last year.

These are all-rounders Shamar Springer and Keemo Paul; middle-order batsman Kirstan Kallicharan; wicket-keeper/batsman Emmanuel Stewart; and left-arm fast bowler Obed McCoy.

The West Indies Under-19s are participating in this tournament as part of their preparation for the ICC Under-19 World Cup, to be played in New Zealand next year. Springer, Paul and McCoy will not be eligible for that tournament, but have been selected as part of their continued development and monitoring.

Head Coach Graeme West outlined the details behind the team’s preparations.

“We have a really fantastic group of players selected for this tournament and we believe they will do very well. We had a camp in Grenada before Christmas, which went really well. We will have another camp here in Antigua in the build-up to this event, which should get us in the right frame of mind as we play against older and more experienced opposition,” West said.

“On the team, we have included three ‘over-aged’ players – Springer, Paul and McCoy – to add a bit of strength especially to the seam bowling department. They are three quality bowlers, and they can bat as well, and we believe will serve West Indies cricket very well in the future.”

The West Indies Under-19s will play in Zone A, which is based in Antigua. They will play alongside defending champions Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, Windward Islands Volcanoes, Kent Spitfire and host team Leeward Islands Hurricanes.

FULL SQUAD: Te-Shawn Alleyne, Alick Athanaze, Joshua Bishop, Shian Brathwaite, Kirstan Kallicharan, Mikyle Louis, Obed McCoy, Matthew Patrick, Keemo Paul, Jeavor Royal, Javier Spencer, Shamar Springer, Emmanuel Stewart and Bhaskar Yadram.

TEAM MANAGEMENT: Graeme West (Head Coach); Tony Gray (Assistant Coach); Dwain Gill (Team Manager); Khevyn Williams (Physiotherapist); Dinesh Mahabir (Analyst); Zephyrinus Nicholas (Trainer). (windiescricket)