Can't believe Sa lost that...well er, maybe I can actually
. Really chuffed for the young Windies players. I mean, let's put this into context. The SA bunch were largely older and played a lot more u19 youth internationals than our lot. Tbh only Stewert and the incredible Kallicharan had played youth internationals before. And that was because they were young 16 year olds who were in the squad when we won the u19 world cup last year. They didn't play more than one or two games though. And also this was the first series that this group of players have played together as a unit. So it's quite amazing to see that they've gone to South Africa and actually won after taking a few hammerings along the way.
Simmons= 18 year old opener from Trinidad. Wasn't sold on him at first but he grew into the series and that ton he got today was very timely indeed.
Persuad= 17 year old keeper/batsman from Guyana. Everyone who's seen him play say he's a star in the making. We were struggling at the top of the order in the first three games. Partly due to Simmons inconsistency. But he came in in the last two games and was a calming presence at the top by the looks of it. Also got three catches behind the stumps today too.
Yadram= 17 year old alrounder from Guyana. Brilliant, simply brilliant. He stood up with the bat when we needed him the most. He was also selfless and batted both as an opener and number three. His bowling was also extremely crucial to us winning this series. Especially the 3fer he took today. And not to mention him bowling that last over and defending eight runs. He's played a first class game for Guyana already and I expect to see a lot more from this kid.
Stewert= 17 year old keeper/batsman from Grenada. A lot is expect from this young man. He's played above his age group at all levels thus far in regional youth cricket and is said to be in the "Shiv" mould. Got a decent 45 in one of the earlier games but never really showed his real class in this series. Hoping for more when we play Zimbabwe.
Kallicharan= 17 year old batsman from Trinidad. Simply our best player. Scored a great ton in the first game which was sadly in vain. He also scored an 87 in the warm up match before that and a 47 aswell. A lot of eyes are on him after he broke Lara's schoolboy record in Trinidad and I'm hoping the kid will make his first class debut for Trinidad this year.
Athanaze= 18 year old from Dominica. Was wondering what the hell he was doing in the side after seeing his scores in the first three games. But they kept faith with him and he scored a great 66 not out to guide us to victory in the fourth game and then followed it up with a decent 40 aswell. Whilst also bowling a tidy spell of offspin. Played a big role in the end.
Cooper= 18 year old batsman from Trinidad. Not good enough really. Never scored anything significant during this entire series and I'd be surprised if he goes to the next u19 world cup.
Royal= 18 year old Jamaican alrounder. This guy really stood up to be counted in this series. His strike rate was the best from either side with the bat, plus he took the most wickets aswell. Having him come in down the order allowed us to put runs on the board quickly. And this was certainly true in the second game when his 31 not out won us the game.
Patrick= 16 year old batsman from Trinidad. Really was confused about this one. He actually played the entire series of our domestic 50 over competition as an opener and got 45s against Kent and the Winwards. Infact his list A average right now is 29 after seven games. And yet he didn't open the batting once in this series and only played the last two games. Very weird indeed as he probably has as much talent as Kalli tbh. and I don't think it's a coincidence that once he came back into the side we won both games.
Young= 16 year old pacer from Barbados. Very very promissing quick this lad is. Got a crucial 3fer in the fourth game to peg SA back and the attack needs to be built around him going forward I think.
Alleyne= 17 year old pacer from Triniad. Is said to be very quick, but quite erratic with his lines at times. Got four wickets and done ok.
Bishop= 17 year old left-arm spinner from Barbados. He too played in our 50 over competition and as a 16 year old got a 4fer against Kent. He ended up taking 12 wickets in that competition and his list A bowling average is an impressive 21 after seven games. He played three games in this series and took four wickets. Took a bit of stick at times but all in all he done alright and I can see him only getting better tbh.
Nedd= 18 year old pacer. Done himself no harm I guess. Was steady with his economy and took three wickets. Not sure he's as good as Young and Alleyne though.
Spencer= 17 year old left arm pacer. A lot is expected of this kid. He played in the 50 cover comp too and got himself five wickets. But in this series, although he got a wicket in all three of the games he played, he was far too expensive. Hopefully he sorts that out in-time for the world cup.
Louis= 16 year old leggy. He too done well in the 50 overs last year. Took three wickets and caused the likes of Kent major problems with his googleys. Took four wickets in the two warm-up matches but got a bit of stick in the first game and didn't appear again. He's a big talent though so should be fine.
In closing our youth cricketers are currently a shining light in what has been a pretty dark period for our cricket. The men have been gutless and the women have fallen down too. But these kids have carried on the glory from last year and it's brilliant to see. Now they head to Zimbabwe where we will be playing three matches. It's also the first time we've met them since that contraversial win we got over them at the world cup. A moment that I think turned the whole competition upside down for us and galvanised the players after the stick they got.