This big news accompanied Friday’s marketing-campaign launch for the global tournament, with the rallying tagline and jingle ‘Be There’ being rolled out across the host nations – Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago – and globally via social media and other digital platforms.
However, in the wake of COVID-19, Cricket West Indies has stipulated that fans should visit www.u19cwc.com/tickets to get FREE tickets. This process will allow organizers to control the number of spectators attending.
“While there will be free entry, fans must get their tickets prior to match day and adhere to the relevant protocols,” stressed Tournament Director, Fawwaz Baksh.
“Regarding COVID-19, we will observe the national protocols when it comes to people attending large-scale events. If the Government and Ministry of Health officials say fans must be vaccinated, then so be it. If fans must have registered a negative test within a certain time period, before the match, then so be it. We are working with all four host governments to ensure a safe environment.”
Meanwhile, Regional Marketing Manager for the tournament, Chalita Rose, urged West Indians to heed the clarion call to ‘Be There’ for the 16-team cricketing blockbuster, featuring 48 matches in 23 days. He noted the key elements of the marketing campaign are designed to attract “the Caribbean public, and the world, to watch and support the future stars of cricket”.
“Headlined by an infectious, West Indian-flavoured jingle by Voice – a young, popular soca artiste from Trinidad – the ‘Be There’ campaign has strong visuals. We are highlighting former West Indies under-19 players who have evolved into international stars,” he revealed.
“We have Alzarri Joseph from Antigua and Shimron Hetmyer from Guyana; both members of the West Indies victorious Under-19 World Cup team in 2016, with Hetmyer as captain. We also feature Jayden Seales from Trinidad who was in the Under-19 Team of the Tournament in 2020 and is now playing Test cricket. So, our campaign shows Under-19 cricket as the pathway to success.”
The marketing blitz, spearheaded by Trinidad-based advertising agency, Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi, will see advertisements across all media, billboards and giant cricket bats sprinkled across host countries; wide-ranging digital promotions, as well as social-media endorsements by regional influencers. There will also be interviews with key tournament officials by diverse media.
In the coming weeks, fans will see more of the ‘Be There’ momentum, with activations throughout the host nations, including a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative geared to youth, promotional giveaways and the unveiling of match-day sportainment plans to enhance this exciting tournament.
Chanderpaul, the most capped player in West Indies Test history, enjoyed an outstanding career during which he played 164 matches and made 11,867 runs at an average of 51.37.
He is the most recent addition to Head Coach Floyd Reifer’s coaching staff and will be part of this preparation period, which runs from November 15 to 28 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
“We want to welcome Shivnarine Chanderpaul to the Rising Stars U19s group and we look forward to him working with our young players at this critical stage in their development pathway,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.
“Shiv has a tremendous amount of cricketing knowledge and know-how and he will be a great addition to the coaching staff. We already have another icon of the game in Sir Curtly Ambrose, who has been involved with the squad since the camp in August, as well as several other outstanding coaches.”
Meanwhile, the CWI selection panel has named 28 players for the camp that follows the previous camp and trial matches held in August. The squad includes two newcomers – Jaden Leacock, a right-arm fast-medium bowler and right-hand batter and Kevin Wickham, a right-hand batter and right-arm wrist spinner – who will be assessed by the coaches and selectors.
Robert Haynes, CWI’s Lead Selector for the West Indies Rising Stars U19s said he is looking forward to this next phase of the squad’s preparation.
“Having had a month-long camp in Antigua in August followed by the 18-man West Indies Under-19 squad tour of England, I am looking forward to seeing the continued progress and improvements of the various players as well as to interact with them to understand their thinking and approach to the game,” he said.
“The two-week camp will include four practice matches along with continued skills and physical development, and it’s an opportunity for all players invited to stake a claim for selection for the series at home and the ICC Under19 Cricket World Cup.”
The West Indies Rising Stars U19s are preparing for the prestigious ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup tournament, which will be hosted by CWI in the Caribbean from January 4 to February 3, 2022. Before the World Cup, West Indies are due to finalise their squad preparation with a five-match series at home. Further details will be announced once officially confirmed.
FULL SQUAD: Onaje Amory, Anderson Amurdan, Ackeem Auguste, Justin Beckford, Teddy Bishop, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett, Jaden Carmichael, McKenny Clarke, Rivaldo Clarke, Amrit Dass, Giovonte Depeiza, Nathan Edward, Andel Gordon, Sion Hackett, Justin Jagessar, Jordan Johnson, Kyle Kissoondath, Johann Layne, Jaden Leacock, Nicholas Lewin, Anderson Mahase, Matthew Nandu, Shaqkere Parris, Kelvin Pittman, Shiva Sankar, Vasant Singh, Isai Thorne and Kevin Wickham.
The young West Indies finished fifth in the competition won by Bangladesh, who were claiming their maiden world title.
Despite not making it to the semi-final, the West Indies did have some impressive performances with both bat and ball.
Young, for instance, became the first West Indian to take a five-for (5-45) and score a half century (66) in an under-19 match when he helped the side to a dominant victory over England in the first round. His 61 was also instrumental in helping the West Indies get past Australia.
Young would end the tournament with an average of 28 with the bat and eight wickets from six games at an average of 26.75.
For his performances, Young makes the side as the designated number six batsman.
Understandably, further down the order lies Seales, who is an out-and-out strike bowler, having taken 10 wickets with a best of 4-19 against Australia at an impressive average of 18.3. He was also miserly when not taking wickets, ending the tournament with an economy rate of 3.89 runs per over.
Only India and Bangladesh have more players in the team of the tournament with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravi Bishnoi and Kartik Tyagi, making the cut.
Tournament winners Bangladesh have Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Shahadat Hossain making the team as batsmen, with Akbar Ali chosen to keep wicket.
Afghanistan, like the West Indies, have two players in the side with Ibrahim Zadran and Shafiqullah Ghafari making the cut.
Canada’s Akil Kumar is the team’s 12th man.
