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After no Trinidad Tobago players were named in the 15-man West Indies squad for the 2024 International Cricket Council (ICC) men's under-19 World Cup, TT Cricket Board (TTCB) president Azim Bassarath said the country's young cricketers did not do enough to warrant selection for the global tournament.
The Rohan Nurse-coached Windies squad will be led by Dominican batsman Stephan Pascal, with Barbados all-rounder Nathan Sealy appointed as the team's vice-captain. The team includes the trio of fast-bowler Isai Thorne, all-rounder Nathan Edward and talented Jamaican batting prospect Jordan Johnson, all of whom turned out for the Windies in last year's under-19 World Cup which was hosted in the Caribbean. The TT pair of Anderson Mahase and Shiva Sanka were included in the 15-man squad for the 2022 edition, but there was no room for TT players in the 2024 edition which will be played in South Africa from January 19 to February 11.
"Our players would have participated in the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Rising Stars under-19 tournament (in 2023) and none of them did well, so, therefore, none were deserving of selection," Bassarath told Newsday, after the West Indies' squad announcement on Monday.
"Our under-19s played in our TTCB premiership competition as preparation for the regional tournament and were also engaged in other development tournaments.
"I think the TTCB did its best but the players did not step up to the plate."
Jacen Agard, Justin Jaggessar, Orlando James and Andrew Rambaran were the four TT players selected for a West Indies under-19 high-performance camp which was held in Antigua from February to March this year. On Saturday, Rambaran was awarded as the most outstanding player as TTCB held an award ceremony for 20 under-20 cricketers who took part in their eight-weekend academy programme.
In June this year, Bassarath heaped praises on the TT under-19 team before they participated in the CWI Rising Stars under-19 tournaments.
The TTCB president had said, "This under-19 team is the best team ever selected to represent TT in this age group."
Jamaica's under-19s won the regional Rising Stars double, as they won both the three-day and 50-over tournaments. In the 50-over tournament, TT finished with two wins, two draws and a no-result.
The West Indies World Cup 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.
WI Under-19 lead selector Robert Haynes said, "We have named a balanced squad for the upcoming ICC men’s under-19 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.
"Since that tour, we also had a camp in Trinidad where we played against the USA under-19 and the TT under-23 teams. They will be match-fit and mentally prepared when they journey to South Africa."
The Windies have been drawn alongside hosts South Africa, Scotland and England in Group B for their first-round matches. The regional team will bowl off their campaign in the tournament opener against South Africa at JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom on January 19. India are the defending champions.
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