Young Dominican cricketer, Stephan Pascal, has been named captain of the West Indies squad for the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa which runs from January 19 to February 11, 2024.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Monday, December 18, 2023, announced the team of the Rising Stars Men’s Under 19s for the 15th edition of the tournament.
Nathan Sealy was named Vice Captain. According to CWI, 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,” it said.
Lead Selector Robert Haynes said the team is a balanced one.
“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,” he said. “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.”
He added that the upcoming tournament is a fantastic opportunity for the players to represent the West Indies and to showcase their talent against their peers before a worldwide audience.
“This is a crucial stage in their development,” Haynes remarked. “They have received excellent preparation, help, and guidance from the coaches and support staff, and we expect to see them do very well.”
This is not the first time Pascal has captained the Windies U-19 squad. In August this year, he was the skipper in a three-match One-Day International U19 series against Sri Lanka. Although the team was defeated 2-1, he told the Trinidad Newsday in November that he was motivated and wanted to work harder to develop his craft.
“I just want to improve and keep on growing from strength to strength,” he said. “From a personal standpoint, I just want to contribute as much as possible. Be it in the field, with the bat, or with my leadership.”
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
Congrats to young Pascal for making first his family esp Dad Beno and Cricketers proud.
You realize i didn’t say Dominicans, this is because not all, instead, most of us are only interested in cricket when west indies comes to town.
Come on folks, Pascal like the rest of sports personnel needs our support at the grounds.
Folks, crowd matters, our players need to play needs our encouragement, to feel appreciated, not empty grounds which is the norm in Dominica.
We are often critical when our guys doesn’t perform, instead they need be encouraged.
We need better support from the primary school to national level.
Government through the sports division should get back to the good old days when schools brought children to support.
what is most hurtful, those in government and leadership where there ones taken to Winsor Park to cheer on their heroes.
Alick, Kavem and Stephan to name a few are our cricket heroes.
BENO, please encourage Steph to prepare to put a prize on his…
The phenomena of the “late bloomer” is very common to the human experience, with sports being no different.
Stephen Paschal is a prime example of a rare “early bloomer” who burst onto the cricketing scene while displaying skills that suggest evidence of a man playing among boys of the same age.
Though Paschal still has a huge upside and bright future in Regional cricket, some of his peers whom he overshadowed at the U15 and U17 competition levels, have closed the once noticeable maturity and talent gaps.
From a larger picture standpoint, this bodes well for the future of West Indies cricket as it relates to succession planning. At this early stage, I am not hung up on Paschal scoring “only 40’s and 50’s”. The focus should be on West Indies cricket nurturing these young Bucks to hone their cricketing skills in order to be competitive on the international level.
Good to hear Stephan is the captain. He has been around long enough even if he is still under 19yrs. My problem is he does not score heavily to send a message to the entire region. You think 40 or 50 runs are good scores? No they are not. Thats mediocrity. Jordan Johnson is the name that is on all cricket podcasts in the region!! Come on man!!