Guyana to defend 50-over title as Regional U19 set to bowl off on August 15 in St. Kitts
Jul 21, 2017 , http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....gust-15-in-st-kitts/
Guyana will be looking to defend their 50-over title when the Regional U19 Cricket tournament commence on August 12 in St. Kitts. Guyana beat Windward Islands to win the 50-over title last year, but surrendered the three-day crown to Trinidad and Tobago. The 50-over tournament will commence on August 15.
According to a release from Cricket West Indies, the three-day competition will have the teams from the six territories, while in the 50-over format; the ICC Americas will field a team for a group of seven.
The release further stated that four venues will be used over the next six weeks by host country St Kitts, to effectively stage both formats, with competition schedule to end on August 28. The three-day format of this tournament will see the addition of two rounds for a total of five, as opposed to the three-round format used in previous years.
Following the West Indies success in the Under 19 World Cup in Bangladesh last year, the team is gearing up for the World Cup in New Zealand next year. Rawl Lewis, the officer in charge of youth development at Cricket West Indies notes this tournament as an important part of the calendar of events. “The Under 19 tournament is an integral part of the development of cricket in the West Indies. It is the final stage before first class cricket and many of our top players hone their skills here.” Fast-bowler Alzarri Joseph, one of the young and upcoming players on the West Indies senior team is a prime example of this. Shimron Hetmyer, former captain of the Under 19 team who secured the championship trophy last year, has also featured at the top of the order for the West Indies test team as of late.
Dennis Phillip, president of the St Kitts Cricket Association says that preparations are well underway and venues will be ready for final inspection on Saturday July 22. Final rounds of meetings with event staff will be completed by this afternoon. “As with everything, there are one or two kinks to be worked out, but we will be fully prepared on Monday,” the release went on.