The players arrived in Antigua earlier Monday on two charter flights that collected players from across the Caribbean during the course of the day. The West Indies will play three Tests during the seven-week tour in defence of the Wisden Trophy they won during their home series against England in 2019.
“This is a huge step forward in cricket and in sports in general as we travel over to England for this series. A lot has gone into the preparations for what will be a new phase in the game. I’m happy for the support and well-wishes we have been receiving from our loyal and dedicated fans once it was confirmed the tour would go-ahead. This has been a source of great inspiration,” said Holder.
“We have a fantastic group of cricketers, coaches, medical staff and support staff and I know everyone is eagerly looking forward to the start of the first match when we can get back on the field of play. There is expectation in the air that we will defend the Wisden Trophy and we will certainly put in the work and give it our all to keep hold of it.”
On arrival into Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, members of the touring party will be tested again for COVID-19 prior to the seven-week tour during which they will live, train and play in a “bio-secure” environment, as part of the comprehensive medical and operational plans to ensure player and staff safety.
The bio-secure protocols will restrict movement in and out of the venues, so a group of reserve players will travel to train and help prepare the Test squad and ensure replacements are available in case of any injury.
Meanwhile, Floyd Reifer will join the coaching staff as batting coach. He will fill in for Monty Desai, who is based in India but is unable to travel due to travel restrictions. He will join the other members of the coaching staff that includes Phil Simmons (Head Coach) and Roddy Estwick (Assistant Coach), and Rayon Griffith (Assistant Coach).
Team analyst A.R. Srikkanth, who is s also based in India will work remotely from Bangaluru for the duration of the tour.
The medical support staff will be bolstered by the additions of Dr Praimanand Singh (Team Doctor), Neil Barry Jr (Physiotherapist), Nkoyo Meade (Massage Therapist) and Donald LaGuerre (Team Psychologist).
The series will feature three back-to-back Test matches for the Wisden Trophy, starting July 8. The first Test will be played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton (July 8-12) with the second and third matches at Old Trafford in Manchester from July 16-20 and then July 24-28.
Test Squad: Jason Holder (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer and Kemar Roach.
Reserve Players: Sunil Ambris, Joshua DaSilva, Shannon Gabriel, Keon Harding, Kyle Mayers, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Anderson Phillip, Oshane Thomas and Jomel Warrican.
The former interim West Indies Head Coach and current Head Coach of the West Indies Emerging Player & High-Performance Programmes will lead the development of the squad as they prepare for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup to be played in the Caribbean in early 2022.
Reifer was chosen because of his impressive track record in building and coaching successful development teams, including the UWI Blackbirds, the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC), the West Indies Emerging Players and the West Indies ‘A’ Team.
According to CWI, as a former interim head coach for the senior team, and as batting coach for the recent tour of England, Reifer’s experience and knowledge are perfectly suited to help young West Indians understand what is needed for them to achieve global standards.
He is also a former batting coach for the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and is the current Head Coach of the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
“It is great to be coaching the young players of the West Indies and trying to guide them as we prepare for the World Cup at home,” Reifer said reacting to his appointment.
“I am excited to have already begun the work and I’m sure the young men are also very enthusiastic. In speaking to many of the possible team members, they are all eager to start the programme. They have not been playing much cricket due to the COVID-19 situation, so it is great that CWI has started to put the preparation in place for our team a year out from hosting the World Cup.
“We have solid plans. The programme we have in place is science and technology-based and it looks at all aspects of their game, including cricket fundamentals and personal development. It is very intense and based on creating an 'elite athlete' with a professional mindset. We have held meetings with coaches and the Territorial Boards and they are all happy with the direction we are going. Within that programme, we hope to have high-performance training camps during the year, the annual Under-19 Rising Stars tournament in the summer, followed by hosting the South Africa U19s for five One-Day matches in the Caribbean.”
Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket, said he was happy that CWI had been able to appoint Reifer to lead the Under-19 programme and take the young players through to the World Cup early next year. “The opportunity fits perfectly given his remit as our High-Performance Head Coach, a role in which he has successfully overseen our High-Performance squads in the recent past, including Emerging Players and ‘A’ teams,” Adams said.
“I would also like to thank Graeme West who coached the U19 team in the last three campaigns, including winning the Tournament in 2016. Graeme will continue to be involved in his current role as High-Performance Manager. He will provide valuable support for Floyd in the planning and execution of the programme all the way through to the World Cup next year.”
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“The team has settled in very well. The last couple of net sessions we had were very good, especially yesterday’s session, where we had a very good gym session in the morning before we went into the nets in the afternoon. I thought the bowlers bowled aggressively, hitting their lines and lengths very hard. The batters are doing very well and we’re still making sure they get in their drills to practice the shots that they want to play in the game so all is going well,” Reifer said.
Reifer noted that the quality of the pitches they practiced on got better as time went on.
“The first day the pitches were a bit slow, obviously, because it was short notice and the guys didn’t have a lot of time to prepare the pitches but yesterday, they were very good for bowling and batting so the boys were happy,” Reifer added.
The former Barbados and West Indies batsman also spoke about how his players are coping with the pressure of playing in a home World Cup.
“These youngsters understand what and who they represent. They know they represent the millions of people in the Caribbean and the millions of people that follow West Indies cricket around the world as well so they know what they’re playing for…they know the importance of the World Cup,” he said.
Reifer says the players have shown a better understanding of what it takes to be elite athletes as time has gone on.
“They’ve been preparing very well mentally, physically, and skillfully. Even off the field, they’re eating better, they’re hydrating better so they understand the importance of being elite athletes. I think they’re on the right road and the right path in terms of understanding. They’ve come a long way in terms of where we started in January to where we are now.” Reifer said while going on to commend them on their noticeable maturity as youngsters.
“There’s vast improvement and vast development. It’s good to see that these youngsters have adapted and adjusted to the lifestyle of being a professional. The conversations that they’re having with each other are very mature conversations so I’m very happy to hear that as well. All in all, we’re doing well and continuing to prepare,” he said.
Reifer finally spoke about a focus on the tactical aspects of the game in the few weeks leading up to the World Cup.
“We’re focusing a lot more now on the tactical side of the game. Focusing a lot more on game awareness and guys understanding their roles. Even in the discussions that we’ve had over the last two days, they understand their roles and responsibilities within the team. They understand about having that killer instinct and positive mindset to go out there and do well,” Reifer said.
The West Indies U19s first match in the World Cup will be against Australia U19s at Providence in Guyana on January 14, 2022.
They will compete in Group D alongside Australia U19s, Scotland U19s, and Sri Lanka U19s.
The Tallawahs, champions in 2013 and 2016, won only three of 11 games and were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champions Trinbago Knight Riders in what was a lop-sided affair.
Powell, who scored 33 in that semi-final loss, his best score of the season, had an otherwise disastrous season with the bat.
Prior to last week’s semi-final match, Powell had scores of 8, 23, 2, 4, 1, 2, 5, and 2. He was equally poor with the ball, failing to take a wicket while conceding 109 runs in a season he would want to quickly forget.
However, notwithstanding the disappointing season, Miller said both still have his full support.
“I am going to fully back the coach and I am going to fully back the captain. They both did the job at hand with the personnel that they had. I am not going to bash any of them,” he said.
“This is a team, not individuals and both of them did as much as they can with the personnel that they had.”
That said, Miller concedes that the Tallawahs went into the season knowing that they had deficiencies in the batting. Andre McCarthy, for example, was unable to travel to Trinidad for the tournament after being exposed to someone who was infected with the COVID-19 virus. His absence was missed.
“We can see from the performance that we were lacking that one batsman who was a specialist batsman who would come in a serve a purpose and we would have the big hitters around that batsman, but unfortunately, we did not have that one specialist batsman and it showed up in our performances from the batters,” Miller said.
“McCarthy, or any other specialist batsman, would have helped us out this year.”
The teams arrived in St. Vincent late on Monday for the series that will be used by both teams as preparation for the Men’s ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup to be hosted in the Caribbean from January 14-February 5.
West Indies Head Coach Floyd Reifer views these matches as an important way to initially see how players react to different scenarios in a competitive setting.
“It’s great for us to have these matches as part of the build-up to the World Cup. We are really looking forward to this series against South Africa, as we are at the stage where it is important for the squad to play together, to see players in various roles, see how they respond to situations and how well they execute the plans we put in place,” Reifer said.
He also stressed the importance of the matches in facilitating good team chemistry and culture ahead of the World Cup.
“It is for us to also make sure we get the team going well together and have synergy, so the players fully understand each other. This is very crucial for us as we look to build the team energy and the team culture. I can’t stress enough how vital these matches are, and we will be taking them very seriously,” Reifer said.
He thanked the parties involved in making the series possible.
“We want to thank the Government and Cricket Association of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for working with our operations and medical teams over the past week to put things in place for us to get some much-needed playing time in the middle and preparations,” he said.
The ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup will feature 16 teams in 48 matches.
They are defending champions Bangladesh, England, Canada and the United Arab Emirates from Group A, with debutants Uganda placed in Group B alongside India, South Africa and Ireland. Group C comprises Pakistan, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea and Group D sees host West Indies, Australia, Sri Lanka and Scotland.
Despite the team widely being acknowledged as having a potent bowling line-up heading into the series, many have raised concerns about how the Windies will fare at the crease against experienced English bowlers and potentially damp, cold conditions.
The absence of the talented duo of Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo, who opted out of the tour for health reasons, have done little to assuage those fears but Reifer, who was recently returned to the coaching unit, insists the team’s hard work so far gives them a good chance of success for the upcoming series.
“I keep hearing everyone saying they are concerned about our batting. We have some experienced guys here and the boys have been working really hard,” Brathwaite told the Mason and Guest Radio program.
“We understand the English conditions now. Young Hope and Brathwaite who were here before are now experienced players…” he added.
“What we have been working on is playing the ball late, in the Caribbean, our batters tend to go fairly hard at the ball but we are working on playing the ball as late as possible, and trying to leave alone as many deliveries as possible on top of the off-stump. It’s important when the ball is moving around you try to play as little as possible and rotate the strike. We have been having a lot of discussion on battling their spells and building innings.”
The Caribbean team will not need to look far for an example of its batting line-up struggling in English conditions than the first Test of the tour three years ago. After England made 514, the West Indies were dismissed for 168 and 137.
