Antigua and Barbuda’s Jewel Andrew is one of two wicketkeeper batsmen selected in the West Indies Rising Stars Men’s Under 19s squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka starting on 25 August.
The CWI Selection Panel, on Thursday, named 15 players for the Rising Stars Under-19’s Tour which will feature three 50-over matches and two four-day matches against the Sri Lanka Under-19 team at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium.
Andrew, who represents the Pigotts Crushers in the domestic competitions, finished 12th in the Two Day batting rankings with a total of 365 runs in 13 innings with a highest of 100 coming against Bolans Blasters on March 18.
The player was the second highest runs scorer in the Cool & Smooth T20 Explosion with 324 runs at an average of 40.50. He scored three half centuries with a highest of 64 against Bolans Blasters.
Grenada’s Devonie Joseph is the other wicketkeeper batsman named in the squad.
Top-order batter Stephan Pascal will be captain for the white ball matches with Nathan Sealy, the left-handed slow bowling all-rounder, to lead the side for two red ball matches which conclude the Tour. The squad includes three players who played in the ICC Men’s U19 World Cup in 2022 which was hosted in the West Indies. They are: fast bowler Isai Thorne, all-rounder Nathan Edward and left-handed batter Jordan Johnson.
Rohan Nurse, CWI’s Talent Pathway Manager is the Head Coach.
Robert Haynes, Lead Selector for the Rising Stars Men’s Under 19s said: “This is a very important tour to Sri Lanka for the development of this group of young cricketers. We have some excellent players in the squad who did very well in the recent West Indies Rising Stars Under-19s Championships in St. Vincent, and we believe they will continue to grow and develop on this upcoming tour.”
Haynes added: “This is an integral part of the preparations for next year’s ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup which will also be played in Sri Lanka. The players will get a first-hand look at the conditions and become acclimatized. We are also very happy that we will have the chance to play two four-day matches. We see the red ball format as very important and vital to the development of our young players. We have not played a Youth Test in a long while and so this is a welcome return to the tour itinerary.”
The next ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup will be played in Sri Lanka in January and February 2024.
FULL SQUAD: Stephan Pascal (co-Captain), Nathan Sealy (co-Captain), Jewel Andrew, Mavendra Dindyal, Joshua Dorne, Nathan Edward, Tarrique Edward, Reon Edwards, Deshawn James, Jordan Johnson, Devonie Joseph, Tamarie Redwood, Isai Thorne, Steve Wedderburn and Adrian Weir.
TEAM MANAGEMENT: Rohan Nurse (Head Coach), Rohan Clarke (Assistant Coach), Nick Wilton (Assistant Coach), Gibbs Williams (Team Manager), Dominic Angoy (Physiotherapist), Gregory Seale (Strength and Conditioning Coach).