West Indies land in Namibia for U-19 World Cup campaign

The West Indies Under-19 squad has arrived safely in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia, ready to compete in the 2026 ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup, which gets underway with its first slate of warm-up games on Friday, January 9.

The boys in maroon have been drawn in Group D of the competition alongside South Africa, Afghanistan and Tanzania, against whom they will commence battle on January 15.

West Indies’ three group matches will be played at the High-Performance Oval in Windhoek and prior to the start of the group phase, the team will warm-up against Ireland and Japan also in Windhoek, on January 10 and 13.

The full squad departed the region via Barbados on Tuesday January 6 with a first stop in the United Kingdom, before proceeding to the African continent.

Head Coach Rohan Nurse, who was present at the 2022 and 2024 editions as assistant coach, spoke on the team’s readiness for the global showpiece.

“Everybody is clear in terms of what the objectives are and their respective roles, so we’re looking forward to a successful execution,” Nurse shared.

“Over our two lead-up series against Sri Lanka and England, we’ve batted first on occasions and won games, we have chased and won games, so I think that the team assembled is one that is prepared for any situation that we encounter.”

“The fact that we played well in those instances, built confidence in the group. We are quite happy with the work done and the preparation that has taken place in the territories with the pathway coaches as well as the franchises, and ultimately, we’re ready to go.”

Captain Joshua Dorne is one of two players in the team, the other being wicketkeeper/batter Jewel Andrew, appearing at their second Under-19 World Cup.

“Last time around it was pretty rough, but I learned from that experience and I’m coming back stronger this time,” Dorne said ahead of Tuesday’s departure.

“Defeating Sri Lanka then England in those series gave us a big confidence boost going into the World Cup. With the addition of Jewel, it means a lot because he has that international exposure. It means he can give information at any time if needed and offer the international experience that he possesses.”

Vice-captain Jonathan Van Lange echoed the sentiments of his captain.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge. This is my first Under-19 World Cup, my first major tournament, so I’m looking forward to putting in some good performances for the team,” the Guyanese all-rounder said.

“For Joshua and Jewel, this is their second World Cup, and they’ve had first class experience while Jewel has CPL experience, so I’m definitely looking to feed off of that.”

Australia are the defending champions having won the 2024 edition with a victory over India in the final. India has won the most titles with five, while the West Indies’ only tournament victory came exactly 10 years ago, in India.

Match Schedule

Warm-Up Games:

West Indies vs Ireland- 10 January 10, Windhoek

West Indies vs Japan- 13 January 13, Windhoek

Group Stage:

West Indies vs Tanzania- January 15 @ 3:30 AM (AST)/ 2:30 AM (JAM)

West Indies vs Afghanistan-  January 18 @ 3:30 AM (AST)/ 2:30 AM (JAM)

West Indies vs South Africa- January 22 @ 3:30 AM (AST)/ 2:30 AM (JAM)