Four Trinidad and Tobago cricketers for West Indies Under-19 tour

FOUR Trinidad and Tobago cricketers were selected on an 18-member West Indies Under-19 squad for the forthcoming tour of England.

Sion Hackett, Justin Jagessar, Anderson Mahase and Vasant Singh are the four TT players included.

A Cricket West Indies media release on Friday, said, “The squad will be led by Ackeem Auguste with Giovonte Depeiza as vice-captain. Auguste is a left-handed top-order batsman while Depeiza is a right-handed middle-order batsman and left-arm spinner.”

Robert Haynes, lead selector for the Under-19 Rising Stars, said the tour will benefit the team preparing for the International Cricket Council Under-19 World Cup next year.

“This trip to England is part of the preparation for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup next year and will prove to be valuable experience for these young men,” Haynes said.

“We have a very good combination, and it is really pleasing to see we have quality all-round cricketers in the group, which gives us more options. The conditions in England will be challenging, and they know that, but they have fantastic management support in the set-up, including Sir Curtly Ambrose whose experience and knowledge will be an asset.”

The 18-member squad was selected after 60 players participated in matches in Antigua.

Haynes said, “We started the selection process four weeks ago, with 60 very talented youngsters from all across the region. It wasn’t easy cutting the squad down. But if you look at the balance in the bowling attack we have now selected, with six fast bowlers and three specialist spinners, you can see we have selected a quality attack. We also have some talented batsmen who we expect to perform well. The work that everyone has put in to get these guys here to this level has been exceptional.”

Rohan Nurse will lead the coaching staff as the acting coach, as Floyd Reifer is unavailable due to prior contractual arrangements with the Caribbean Premier League.

The tour will feature six Youth One-Day Internationals at The County Ground, Beckenham and The Polo Farm, Canterbury from September 4-17.

The West Indies Rising Stars Under-19 squad was selected following an eight-match trials series. From there the squad was reduced to 26 players who were then involved in more intensive targeted high performance coaching and simulation sessions.

The 2022 Under-19 Cricket World Cup will be hosted in the Caribbean from January 4-February 3.

SQUAD: Ackeem Auguste (captain), Giovonte Depeiza (vice-captain), Onaje Amory, Anderson Amurdan, Justin Beckford, Teddy Bishop, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett, McKenny Clarke, Rivaldo Clarke, Nathan Edward, Andel Gordon, Sion Hackett, Justin Jagessar, Johann Layne, Anderson Mahase, Matthew Nandu, Isai Thorne, Vasant Singh

TEAM MANAGEMENT: Rohan Nurse (acting head coach), Sir Curtly Ambrose (assistant coach), Steve Liburd (assistant coach), Junie Mitcham (manager), Avenesh Seetaram (analyst), Alex Forde (strength & conditioning coach), Lyndon Knights (physiotherapist)

MATCH SCHEDULE

September 4: 1st Youth ODI – Beckenham

September 6: 2nd Youth ODI – Beckenham

September 8: 3rd Youth ODI – Beckenham

September 10: 4th Youth ODI – Canterbury

September 14: 5th Youth ODI – Canterbury

September 17: 6th Youth ODI – Canterbury