Off-spinner Ramaal Lewis, who captained West Indies Under-19s during the just-concluded WICB NAGICO Insurance Super50 cricket tournament in Trinidad and Tobago, believes the team did well, this despite finishing the eight-team competition without a win in their three matches.
The young West Indians, who are preparing for next year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, lost their encounters to hosts Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, Leeward Islands Hurricanes and Jamaica Franchise.
“It was the first time (at the regional level) for most of us, and I thought we did our best and gave a good account of ourselves,” said Lewis, one of three recent Under-19 players who were part of the team’s 14-man squad. The others were batsmen Guyanese Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Grenadian Roland Cato.
“This was especially the case for the current players, who can go to the World Cup next February.
“I think they showed they are more than capable of winning the World Cup,” the 18-year-old Jamaican added.
Entered as a guest team, the Under-19s went down by five wickets to Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in their opener, a rain-affected encounter. They were first restricted to 97 for seven off 21 overs, before the home team cruised to 101 for five off 16 overs.
Next up were the Leewards, who won by 48 runs. The victors first posted 231 for eight off 50 overs, with the regional juniors replying with 183 for nine off their 50-over allotment.
Their final fixture against Jamaica ended in a nine-wicket defeat. They were first bowled out for 137 off 47 overs, before the Jamaicans replied with 139 for one off 28.4 overs.
Lewis, who guided West Indies to the quarter-finals at the 2014 ICC Under-19 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, also listed 18-year-old Guyanese opener Shimron Hetmyer and Barbados and Jamaica pace bowling all-rounders 17-year-old Shamar Springer and Odean Smith, respectively, as prospective World Cup standouts.
