U19 cricket team drops first match in World Cup qualifiers
(CNS Local Life): The Cayman Islands U19 cricket team has lost its first match to the US squad in the ICC Americas Regional U19 World Cup Qualifiers in Toronto, Canada, which runs through 16 July. The team and support staff travelled to Canada Saturday so did not have much down time before they had to take on the US on the first day of play, Monday, 8 July.
All the matches will be played at the Maple Leaf Cricket Ground in King City.
Members of the squad went through a tough selection process during rigorous training sessions held at the Smith Road Oval, facilitated by head coach and technical director Peter Anderson, stated a Cayman Cricket press release.
An ex-Australian all-star, Anderson accompanied Cayman’s senior men’s team to Argentina in 2018 where they progressed through to the ICC Americas Regional T20 qualifiers for the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia next year.
“The average age of this squad is pretty young at 15,” Anderson said ahead of accompanying the team to Toronto. “It is really encouraging to be able to have such a youthful team ready to represent Cayman in this competition. These players are the backbone of youth cricket in Cayman and I have no doubt they will go on to represent the country on future senior overseas tours.”
The coach added, “The players have been committed to attending training sessions and to being the absolute best that they can be in readiness for these qualifiers, and I am confident that they will do very well indeed against the stiff competition”.
International law firm Mourant have sponsored the team’s travelling and match uniforms for the tournament.
Hayden Isbister, Mourant’s Cayman managing partner said, “We’re really excited and proud to see the Under 19s heading to Canada. This not only gives them a unique opportunity to fly the Cayman flag internationally, it also brings them individually and as a team a different perspective on the sport.
“Cayman Cricket has worked hard with the schools’ cricket programmes to make the sport accessible to young children in the Cayman Islands and we are delighted to be working with them to continue making this happen.”
The line-up for this tournament is Luke Harrington-Myers (captain), Revaughn Johnson, Gabriel Harrington-Meyers, Stephen Watson, Lucas Carter, Neildeep Ghosh, Arjun Dhanasekar, Kandre Amerally, Dedrick McLaughlin, Tazmar Dawkins, Liam Sinclair, Tareque Simpson, Joshua Ebanks and Junior Saunders.
The team will also be accompanied on the trip by manager Marlon Hoyte.
