West Indies Under-19s will play Papua New Guinea Under-19s on Wednesday in Trinidad & Tobago in a quarter-final of the ICC Men's Under-19 Cricket World Cup Plate Tournament.

In Group C, Zimbabwe U-19s achieved the biggest margin of victory so far in the tournament, a massive 228 run win over Papua New Guinea U-19s in Port of Spain.

After Zimbabwe won the toss and batted first, captain Emmanuel Bawa scored one of two centuries on the day, an even 100 off 95 balls to help Zimbabwe post a formidable 321-9 off their 50 overs.

Papua New Guinea were no match for the Zimbabwean bowlers, being skittled out for 93 in 35 overs.

Victor Chirwa was the pick of the Zimbabwean bowlers with 2-11 from seven overs while Brian Bennett (2-20 from 6 overs) and Ngenyasha Zvinoera (2-25 from 6 overs) also had good spells.

In the lone Group A match on Saturday, UAE U-19s beat Canada U-19s by 49 runs in a competitive game in Basseterre.

UAE U-19s won the toss and batted first, making 284-7 off their 50 overs thanks to half-centuries from Punya Mehra (71) and Ali Naseer (73).

Gurnek Singh took 2-38 off seven overs for Canada U-19s.

A well-played 96 from captain Mihir Patel wasn’t enough for Canada U-19s to successfully chase their target, eventually finishing 235 all out off 46.4 overs.

Anoop Chima (46) and Kairav Sharma (43) also got runs for Canada U-19s against 2-32 from eight overs from Nilansh Keswani.

Adhitya Shetty, Jash Giyanani and Alishan Sharafu also got two wickets each for UAE U-19s.

In the first of two Group B matches on Saturday, Ireland U-19s Joshua Cox was the day’s second centurion as his 111 not out helped them secure a 39-run win over Uganda U-19s in Georgetown.

Uganda U-19s won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that proved costly in the end as Ireland were able to get a score of 236-9 off their 50 overs with Cox getting the most support from Phillipus le Roux who made 32.

Juma Miyaji, captain Pascal Muringi, Joseph Baguma and Matthew Musinguzi all took two wickets each for the Ugandans.

Murungi then top scored with 63 and Miyaji also contributed 38 but it wasn’t enough as Ireland restricted them to 197 all out off 48.1 overs to seal the win.

Matthew Humphreys was the pick of the Irish bowlers with 4-25 off his 10 overs.

India U-19s secured a 45-run win over South Africa U-19s in Georgetown in the other Group B clash.

South Africa U-19s won the toss and elected to field first, a decision which looked like the right one as they were able to pick up early wickets thanks to good bowling by left-arm pacer Aphiwe Mnyanda.

India got on the right track, however, and used innings from captain Yash Dhull (82), Kaushal Tambe (35) and Shaik Rasheed (31) to recover to 232 all out in 46.5 overs.

Matthew Boast led the South African bowlers with 3-40 off nine overs while Mnyanda took 2-29 from five.

A stroke-filled 65 from Dewald Brevis and a solid 36 from captain George Van Heerden proved to be insufficient as South Africa lost wickets in quick succession before eventually being bowled out for 187 in 45.4 overs.

Vicky Ostval was the chief destroyer for the Indians with a brilliant 5-28 off his 10 overs while Raj Bawa supported him with 4-47 from 6.4 overs.

West Indies Under-19s suffered a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of South Africa Under-19s in their final ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup Warm-up fixture in Guyana on Wednesday.

South Africa Under-19s won the toss and elected to field first, which proved to be a good move as they were able to restrict West Indies Under-19s to 189 all out in 43.2 overs.

Captain Ackeem Auguste with 52 and wicketkeeper/batsman Carlon Bowen-Tuckett with 45 were the chief scorers for the Windies against 3-36 off four overs from Matthew Boast and 2-14 off five overs from Michael Copeland.

The South Africans then only needed 35.3 overs to reach their target, finishing 191-7 thanks to half-centuries from captain George Van Heerden (61) and Dewald Brevis (50) as well as 36 from Ethan-John Cunningham.

McKenny Clarke took 3-34 off five overs and Anderson Mahase took 2-31 off eight overs for the Windies.

West Indies will open their World Cup campaign against Australia Under-19s at Providence Stadium on Friday, January 14, while South Africa Under-19s will play their opener against India Under-19s at the same venue one day later.

The Youth One-Day-International series between West Indies Under-19s and South Africa Under-19s ended in a 2-2 draw after the Caribbean outfit secured a 19-run win in the fourth and final match at Arnos Vale on Monday.

For the fourth game in a row, West Indies U19 captain Ackeem Auguste won the toss, this time choosing to bat first.

In another disappointing batting display, West Indies U19s could only manage 126 all out in 35 overs.

Teddy Bishop top scored with 43 and Rivaldo Clarke added 30, against 4-11 from leg-spinner Dewald Brevis and two wickets each from pacers Matthew Boast and Aphiwe Mnyanda.

South Africa U19s were then skittled out for 107 in 23.5 overs to go down by 19 runs.

Mnyanda top-scored with 20 while Boast (11) and Valentine Kitime (13) were the only other batsmen to get double figures against 3-34 off eight overs from pacer Johann Layne, 3-23 off six overs from medium-pacer McKenny Clarke, and 3-14 off 2.5 overs from left-arm spinner Jaden Carmichael.

Both teams will now turn their attention to the start of the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup on January 14^th in the Caribbean.

West Indies U19s will play Australia U19s in their first game at Providence in Guyana on January 14^th while South Africa U19s will square off against India U19s at the same venue a day later.

South Africa Under-19s secured a one-wicket win over West Indies Under-19s to take a 2-1 series lead in their four-match Youth ODI Series in St. Vincent, on Thursday, thanks to a solid all-round effort from Liam Alder.

In the match played at the Cumberland Playing Field, West Indies Under 19s won the toss for the third consecutive game and chose to bat after electing to field in the two previous matches.

They struggled throughout their innings, eventually capitulating for 106 in 38.3 overs.

Opener Shaqkere Parris top-scored for the young Windies with 27 and the only other batsmen to reach double figures were Teddy Bishop, who got 26, and vice-captain Giovonte Depeiza who got 22.

Hardus Coetzer and Dewald Brevis each took three wickets for the South Africans while Asakhe Tsaka and Alder took two apiece.

The South Africans then made a meal of their modest target of 107, being 90-8 at one stage before getting to 113-9 in 18.3 overs to win by one wicket thanks to 24 not out from Alder, batting at number nine, which included two sixes.

Opener Ethan Cunningham top-scored with 25 for South Africa U19s.

Off-spinner Onaje Amory almost produced a match-winning spell with 4 for 8 from his four overs, while Johann Layne and Matthew Nandu got two wickets each.

The fourth and final game of the series will be played on Monday at Arnos Vale.

Left-arm spinner Jaden Carmichael claimed figures of 3 for 25 as the West Indies U-19s coasted to a comfortable 8-wicket win to level the series against South Africa U-19s on Tuesday.

Sent to bat first, the South Africans found very little answers at the crease as they were dismissed for just 103 off 31.3 overs.  In response, the West Indies eased to 104-2 off 24.2 overs, to level the four-match series at 1-1.  The South Africans had claimed the opening match of the series by 18 runs.

Carmichael had solid support from fellow left-arm spinner Anderson Mahase (2-34) and pace bowlers McKenny Clarke (2-12) and Johan Layne (2-14).  During the West Indies' time at the crease, it was opener Matthew Nandu who anchored a routine run chase.

The left-hander struck a patient unbeaten 42 from 75 balls and added 58 for the second wicket with Teddy Bishop (25).  He was then part of a 42-run unbeaten stand for the third wicket with captain Ackeem Auguste who made 28 not out.

For South Africa, it was Michael Copeland who top-scored with 24 from 52 balls, but he was one of only two top-order batsmen to reach double figures and the only one to pass 20 for South Africa.

West Indies U19 head coach Floyd Reifer is happy with his team’s preparations ahead of the start of their four Youth One-Day-International series against South Africa U19s on Sunday in St. Vincent.

“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 West Indies Rising Stars U19s will continue their preparation for the upcoming U19 World Cup with a Youth One-Day International Series against South Africa U19s in St. Vincent & the Grenadines starting later this month. Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced on Monday that the teams will play four 50-over matches from December 26 to January 3 at Arnos Vale Stadium and Cumberland playing field.

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.