Deshawn James

The hosts recovered from a tough position to post 285-9 from their 50 overs after being put in to bat by the 2016 champions.

At one point, South Africa found themselves 145-6 in the 35^th over before a brilliant 130-run seventh wicket partnership between Dewan Marais and Captain Juan James.

Marais hit four fours and four sixes on his way to a top score of 65 off just 38 balls while James his three fours and one six for his 47 off 54 balls.

Earlier, David Teeger did his best to provide some stability to the innings with a patient 98-ball 44 batting at three while opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius made a 34-ball 40.

West Indies Vice-Captain Nathan Sealy was impressive with his left arm spin with 3-34 from his 10 overs while pacers Deshawn James and Nathan Edward took a pair of wickets each.

The West Indian reply then got off to the worst possible start when, off the second ball of the innings, Adrian Weir was wrongly adjudged out leg before wicket off the bowling of Kwena Maphaka for a duck.

That was the start of a horrendous first powerplay for the tourists with Captain Stephan Pascal (6), Joshua Dorne (9), Jordan Johnson (21) and Steven Wedderburn (12) all falling in quick succession.

With the West Indies 73-5, Nathan Sealy and Jewel Andrew were brought together and the pair put together a brilliant 117-run sixth wicket partnership to put victory well within reach for the Caribbean side.

The partnership came to an end in the 29^th over when Sealy was brilliantly run out by Oliver Whitehead for a crucial 33 off 55 balls.

Shortly after Sealy’s dismissal, Andrew brought up a magnificent hundred off just 71 balls including 11 fours and three sixes.

With the West Indies comfortable, needing 61 from 90 balls with four wickets in hand, the game changed once again thanks to a brilliant piece of wicketkeeping from Ntando Zuma to stump Tarrique Edward for 13 off the bowling of David Teeger.

The West Indies fightback all but ended off consecutive deliveries in the 39^th and 40^th overs.

First, Maphaka picked up his fourth wicket of the innings with an excellent Yorker to dismiss Nathan Edward for 12 before Andrew’s innings finally came to an end off the bowling of Riley Norton at the start of the very next over with the West Indies needing a further 36 for victory.

Andrew made a brilliant 130 off just 96 balls including 14 fours and three sixes.

Maphaka ended proceedings with his fifth wicket, removing Isai Thorne for two to dismiss the West Indies for 254 off 40.1 overs.

Scores: South Africa Under-19s 285-9 off 50 overs (Dewan Marais 65, Juan James 47, David Teeger 44, Lhuan-de Pretorius 40, Nathan Sealy 3-34, Deshawn James 2-38, Nathan Edward 2-63)

West Indies Under-19s 254 off 40.1 overs (Jewel Andrew 130, Nathan Sealy 33, Jordan Johnson 21, Kwena Maphaka 5-38, Riley Norton 3-66)

The Jamaicans were 4-0 at stumps on day two after bowling out the Bajans for 158 in 56.1 overs.

Nimar Bolden led the way for Barbados with 37 as pacer, Deshawn James, took 5-21 off 10.1 overs for the Jamaicans. Tamarie Redwood took 3-56 from 18 overs in support.

Earlier, Jamaica were bowled out for 269 off 108.4 overs in their first innings after entering day two on 217-4.

Jordan Johnson carried on from his overnight 118* to make 120 off 235 balls. His knock included six fours and a six. Captain, Brian Barnes, who entered day two on 59, was dismissed for 61 off 150 balls.

Captain, Nathan Sealy, took 5-64 off 30.4 overs for Barbados.

A win for Jamaica would see them complete the regional Under-19 double having already claimed the 50-over title.

Batting first, West Indies scored 320 all out from their 50 overs, thanks to the efforts of Johnson, who laid the platform for the match-winning score. He made 105 from just 79 balls and hit 12 fours and three sixes while featuring in a third-wicket partnership of 160 from just 131 balls with Dorne, who scored a relatively patient 56 from 73 balls hitting the boundary six times along the way.

Edward chipped in with a crucial 53 that helped push the West Indies towards 300 runs through a 60-run partnership with Nathan Edward, who scored 13.  Opener Adrian Weir scored 32 and was the principal scorer in a second-wicket stand of 41 with Dorne.

Sineth Jayawardena was the best of the Sri Lankan bowlers with 4-36.

Needing to score at 6.4 runs an over, Sri Lanka’s batters wilted under the pressure collapsing to 40-6 in the 14^th over. Only a 46-run partnership between Malsha Tharupathi and Supun Waduge held up the West Indies attack and got the home side closer to the 100-run mark.

They were eventually bowled out for 125 in the 31^st over to hand the West Indies victory.

Thorne finished with the impressive figures of 3-18 while James took 3-30. Nathan Edward chipped in with 2-17.

The teams will clash in a decider on Friday, September 1.

Top-order batter Stephan Pascal has been named as Captain with Nathan Sealy, the slow bowling allrounder as Vice-Captain. The 15-member squad features most of the players who toured Sri Lanka for three Youth One-Day Internationals (50-over matches) and two four-day “Test” matches in August and September.

The squad includes three players who played in the 2022 ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup which was staged in the West Indies. They are: fast bowler Isai Thorne, left-handed allrounder Nathan Edward and left-handed batter Jordan Johnson.

Thorne made his first-class debut for the West Indies Academy against Emerging Ireland last month and impressed with his pace. He took 12 wickets in two matches at an average of 6.16 per wicket. Johnson joined the West Indies A Team on the recent tour of South Africa where he made his first-class debut in the third and final four-day “Test” match.

The squad has assembled in Antigua for a one-week camp at the Coolidge Cricket Ground. During the camp, they will have training and fitness sessions along with planning sessions and personal development workshops.

Lead Selector Robert Haynes said:

“We have named a balanced squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup and we expect them to do very well in this prestigious international event. We had a good tour of Sri Lanka in August and September where the players gained valuable experience. This helped to prepare them for the upcoming assignment. Since that tour, we also had a camp in Trinidad where we played against the USA Under-19 and the Trinidad & Tobago Under-23 teams. They will be match-fit and mentally fully prepared when they journey to South Africa.”

Haynes added:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for these young men to represent the West Indies and showcase their talent, playing against their peers, in front of a global audience. This is a crucial stage in their development. They have received excellent preparation, help, and guidance from the coaches and support staff, and we expect to see them do very well.”

For the tournament, the West Indies have been drawn alongside hosts South Africa, Scotland, and England in Group B for their first-round matches. All three matches will be played at the J.B. Marks Oval in Potchefstroom. Before that, they will have warm-up matches against New Zealand and Nepal in Johannesburg.

India, who won the tournament in 2022 and are placed in Group A with Bangladesh, Ireland and the USA. Group C features Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, while Group D is made up of Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand and Nepal. The top three sides from each group will progress to the Super Six phase to be played from 30 January to 3 February. The Semi-Finals will be on 6 and 8 February and the Final is on 11 February at Willowmore Park in Benoni.

FULL SQUAD  

Stephan Pascal (Captain) – right-handed bat 

Nathan Sealy (Vice Captain) – right-handed bat/left-arm spin

Jewel Andrew – right-handed bat/wicket-keeper

Mavendra Dindyal – right-handed bat/right-arm leg-spin bowler

Joshua Dorne – right-handed bat

Nathan Edward – left-handed bat/left-arm fast bowler

Tarrique Edward – right-handed bat/right-arm off-spin bowler

Reon Edwards – left-handed bat/left-arm fast bowler

Deshawn James – right-handed bat/right-arm fast bowler

Jordan Johnson – left-handed bat

Devonie Joseph – left-handed bat/wicket-keeper

Raneico Smith – right-handed bat/right-arm fast bowler

Isai Thorne – right-handed bat/right-arm fast bowler

Steve Wedderburn – left-handed bat

Adrian Weir – right-handed bat 

Team Management

Rohan Nurse (Head Coach)

Rohan Clarke (Assistant Coach)

Nick Wilton (Assistant Coach)

Dwain Gill (Team Manager)

Dominic Angoy (Physiotherapist)

Gregory Seale (Strength and Conditioning Coach)

MATCH SCHEDULE 

Warm-up matches

Sunday, 14 January: vs New Zealand at Braamfischer Oval, Johannesburg

Tuesday, 16 January: vs Nepal at St Stithians, Johannesburg

First round – Group B

Friday, 19 January: vs South Africa at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom

Wednesday, 24 January: vs Scotland at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom

Friday, 26 January: vs England at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom

The squad of 29 includes two players who were part of the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19s squad at the 2022 ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup which was hosted in the Caribbean: left-handed batter Jordan Johnson, and right-arm fast bowler Isai Thorne. A third squad member, top-order batter Justin Jaggessar played two Youth ODIs on the West Indies Rising Stars tour of England in September 2021, but did not play in the World Cup.

Nathan Edward, a left-handed bowling allrounder, was originally selected in the squad but is currently representing St. Maarten in the Leeward Islands Senior Men’s Tournament being played in St Kitts. He will be available for future Rising Stars camps and tournaments.

The players were selected based on performances during the Rising Stars age-group tournaments in 2022. Later in the year, CWI will host the 2023 regional age-group Rising Stars presenting the opportunity for other players to compete for selection into the squad ahead of the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup.

The Rising Stars Under 19s High-Performance camp will feature targeted coaching sessions and physical preparations as well as sessions geared towards their off-field development. The camp started on 21 February and will run to 9 March. It will feature 50-over matches at the CCG on 25 February; 1, 5 and 8 March.

Robert Haynes, Lead Selector for the Men’s Youth Selection Panel said:

“This camp is all about the importance of the development of West Indies cricket and this is laying the foundation for the future of our game in the region. This is not just about playing in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup next year, but also about developing the overall player on and off the field. We have some very talented players in this group and we know they will do very well. We still have the age-group tournaments later this year where more players can put in performances and earn selection.”

Rohan Nurse, has been named as CWI’s new Talent Pathway Manager. As part of his role, he will design and lead the programme for the players’ preparations leading up to the next ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup scheduled to be played in the Sri Lanka in early 2024.

The former Assistant Coach of the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19s will lead the day-to-day management of the development squad as part of his wider high-performance role managing our best young talent across the region.

During the camp he will be joined by Assistant Coaches Nikita Miller and Rohan Clarke; Nick Wilton, specialist wicket-keeping coach; Graeme West, CWI’s High-Performance Manager; Chris Brabazon, CWI’s Coach Development Manager; and Steve Liburd, West Indies Women’s Under 19 Head Coach.

FULL SQUAD

Jacen Agard

Jewel Andrew

Brian Barnes

Solomon Bascombe

Golcharan Chulai

Mavindra Dindyal

Joshua Dorne

Tarrique Edward

Reon Edwards

Justin Jaggessar

Deshawn James

Orlando James

Jordan Johnson

Devonie Joseph

Jaden Lorde

Micah McKenzie

Joshua Morris

Stephan Pascal

Jatario Prescod

Andrew Rambaran

Rampertab Ramnauth

Tamarie Redwood

Nathan Sealy

Isai Thorne

Devin Tyson

Yanique Watley

Steven Wedderburn

Adrian Weir

Trevaun Williams