Dominica’s Stephan Pascal hit a half-century while St. Maarten’s Nathan Edward starred with ball and bat to help the West Indies U-19s secure a narrow two-wicket victory over England to confirm their progression through to the Super Sixes stage at the ICC Under-19 World Cup at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom.
Edward, 18, got the ball rolling almost immediately with the wicket of England opened Jaydn Denly just four balls into the contest after the West Indies won the toss and put England in to bat.
Skipper Ben McKinney and Noah Thain then put on 50 for the second wicket before McKinney was Edward’s second victim for 26 in the 11th over.
Thain and new batsman Hamza Shaikh then added a further 47 for the third wicket before Thain went for 40 in the 21st over.
England then lost their next four wickets at 99, 120, 135 and 147 before eventually being bowled out for 192 in 46.3 overs.
Shaikh went on to top score with 53 while Edward, who also took two catches, finished with 3-28 from his 6.3 overs.
He was well supported by Raneico Smith (2-28), Isai Thorne (2-40) and Tarrique Edward (2-40).
The West Indians then lost eight wickets in a nervy chase, eventually bringing up the win reaching 196-8 after 41 overs.
Captain Stephan Pascal led the way with 58 off 84 balls while Edward made a match-winning 49* off 80 balls including five fours and a six.
After the wickets of Jordan Johnson for a rapid 17-ball 31 including four fours and two sixes, Mavendra Dindyal for 14 and Jewel Andrew, the tournament’s leading run-scorer heading into this game with scores of 130 against South Africa and 64* against Scotland, for just two, the West Indies were reeling at 98-5 in the 16th over.
Pascal was then joined at the crease by Edward and the pair put on 51 before Pascal inexplicably tried to go over the top off leg-spinner Tazeem Ali only to be caught at mid-off in the 32nd over.
The subsequent quick dismissal of Nathan Sealy for one in the 35th over put the Windies in a tough spot at 156-7 but Nathan and Tarrique Edward were able go hold their nerve.
Tarrique Edward was eventually dismissed for 5 in the 40th over with the Windies needing just one to win.
The West Indies are now through to the Super Sixes phase of the competition.
The top three from each group qualify for the Super Sixes stage. From there, the 12 teams will be divided into two groups of six each. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Monday announced the West Indies Rising Stars Men’s Under 19s squad for the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup. The 15th edition of the tournament will be played in South Africa from 19 January to 11 February 2024.
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
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