ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup

Namibia's youngsters set to travel along the learning curve

Namibia are looking to the future in the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup (CWC).

The African side, which earned a place in Sri Lanka by winning the Africa/East Asia-Pacific tournament last August, have five 17 year-olds in their squad.

And that concentration on very young players is all part of a long-term strategy according to coach Andy Waller.

"For us as a team this tournament is definitely a learning curve which we can use later on in our cricketing careers," he said.

"By taking so many very young players it bodes well for the future of Namibia cricket as all the players should be able to absorb and enjoy the experience of a World Cup.

"The players can learn from it to prepare for bigger international cricket in Namibia and as a lot of them are young enough to play in the 2008 tournament they can really put their experiences (in Sri Lanka) to good use in future," added the former Zimbabwe batsman.

The side may be young but they are also talented as their success in the qualifying event in Benoni, South Africa, illustrates.

They lost just one match, to fellow ICC U/19 CWC qualifiers Uganda, but got their revenge over their fellow African side by beating them in a closely-fought final by three wickets.

Namibia have the misfortune of being drawn in one of the toughest groups, Group C, and will face tournament favourites India and hosts Sri Lanka, as well as fellow Associate country Scotland.

However they still have several players who appear capable of making an impact.

Chief among them is all-rounder Louis van der Westhuizen, who was one of Namibia's stand-out performers in Benoni.

His left-arm spin proved consistently effective with nine wickets in five matches including 3-10 against Fiji and 3-21 against Tanzania, and in two matches against Uganda he conceded just 37 runs in 20 overs.

And as if that was not enough he also scored 113 from 136 balls as an opening batsman against Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the semi-final win that confirmed their trip to Sri Lanka as one of the two qualifiers.

Vice-captain Nicolaas Scholtz also impressed as a left-arm spinner in the Benoni tournament with seven wickets in five matches and that means Namibia have two bowlers capable of exploiting what are traditionally spin-friendly conditions.

Their pace-bowling resources include Henno Prinsloo, Floris Marx - highly regarded for his abilities at the end of the innings - and the left-armer Marc Olivier, who took 3-27 in the final of the qualifying tournament against Uganda.

With the bat, Namibia will be looking to their captain, ST Ackermann, who made crucial contributions in the two matches against Uganda, and opener Dawid Botha, who made 66 against PNG.

Waller is realistic about his side's chances but is also hopeful they can win at least one of their matches in the group stage.

"We don't expect to win the tournament," he said. "But we have targeted our game against Scotland as a must-win game.

"That would mean we should be third in the group and we would end up in the Plate section and from there we would be happy if we achieved the semi-final."

That is not an unrealistic aim given that Namibia did exactly that when they last played in this tournament, in New Zealand in 2002, beating Sri Lanka, Scotland and Canada to reach that stage before losing to Zimbabwe.

Ahead of what is bound to be a voyage of discovery for Namibia's young players, Ackermann summed up their philosophy when he said: "Our first goal is to do our best in every match and perform to our best both on and off the field but most of all to enjoy the experience and learn from it."

The Nambia squad is: ST Ackermann (captain), Nicolaas Scholtz (vice-captain), Jason Bandlow, Dawid Botha, Morne Engelbrecht, Pieter Grove, Andrew Louw, Hendrik Marx, Floris Marx, Marc Olivier, Henno Prinsloo, Ewald Steenkamp, Keady Strauss and Louis van der Westhuizen.

Manager - Dayle Hadlee, coach - Dipak Patel, physiotherapist - Shane Dery

Plenty of hard work ahead for Pakistan

Defending champions Pakistan have plenty of hard work ahead of them if they are going to retain their ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup (ICC U/19 CWC) crown.

To start with, history is against them because no team has ever won back-to-back titles. In fact, only one team - Australia, in 1988 and 2002 - has been ICC U/19 CWC winners on more than one occasion.

Pakistan are about to discover that the defending champions are no longer the hunters; they are the hunted with every other side eager to claim their scalp and that is a pressure the players will have to cope with in every match.

On top of that, Pakistan's form coming into the tournament has been modest as they finished a disappointing fourth behind India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the Afro-Asian U/19 Cup in India last November.

However, the last thing any pundit can do is to write them off before a ball has been bowled in anger because there are also several factors that will count in their favour in Colombo.

The tournament is, after all, taking place on the sub-continent and that should be a help to the Pakistan players whose experience will be based almost exclusively on playing in extreme heat on dry, turning surfaces.

They have a decent draw too, as although Bangladesh (who beat them by one wicket in a thrilling encounter in the Afro-Asian U/19 Cup) are in their group - Group A - so too are New Zealand, whose players will be in alien conditions, and the Associate side Uganda.

Also in Pakistan's favour is the fact they still have the nucleus of the side that won the trophy in Bangladesh two years ago. The experience those older players have, especially if they make it to the latter stages, could prove crucial.

And while history says no team has ever successfully defended the title, it also shows Pakistan have a proud record that will be the envy of several other teams taking part.

After reaching the final of the first tournament in 1988 when a side including Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed lost to Australia by five wickets, they have reached the Super League stage on every occasion since, something only India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka can match.

And as a further positive for the side, they will arrive in Sri Lanka with high-quality match-play under their belts thanks to a five-match series against the West Indies that is currently taking place in Pakistan.

That series is locked at 1-1 and it should ensure that when Pakistan play their opening match against Uganda at the P.Saravanamuttu Stadium on February 6, they will not be short of competitive practice.

With the bat, Pakistan will be expecting plenty from Muhammad Ibrahim, a right-hander who batted at number three in the first two matches of the West Indies series, scoring 65 and 56. He also bowls some medium pace which gives his side extra options in the field.

Two other key performers with the bat are hidden away in the middle order - the left-handed duo of captain Safaraz Ahmed and Ali Asad.

Both made runs in that disappointing Afro-Asian U/19 Cup campaign with Safaraz, who also keeps wicket, scoring fifties against South Africa and Bangladesh while Ali Asad made an unbeaten 79 in that match against South Africa.

That innings saw his side to one of only two wins they enjoyed in the tournament and Ali Asad showed his abilities to finish off a match again this week with an unbeaten 70 from 77 balls to take Pakistan to victory over the West Indies in Karachi.

All-rounder Ali Khan and the left-handed Nasir Jamshaid have opened against the West Indies while Riaz Kail, Rameez Raja and Laiq Muhammad will all be vying for middle-order berths.

Left-armer Jamshaid Ahmed and Anwer Ali Khan, a right-arm fast bowler, have taken the new ball in the early matches against the West Indies with seam support from Muhammad Ibrahim and Laiq Muhammad.

Interestingly, there are no frontline leg-spinners in the Pakistan squad although Riaz Kail and Muhammad Malik (off-spin) and Syed Wasim and Muhammad Fahim (left-arm) can provide slow-bowling options.

There is no doubt Pakistan's task to win the title again is a tough one but if they can get through the group stage then anything is possible because the draw means they will avoid both favourites India and the hosts Sri Lanka in the Super League quarter-finals.

Victory at that stage against qualifiers from either Group B (including Australia, South Africa and the West Indies) or Group D (England's group) would leave them just two wins away from their goal.

Pakistan have won the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup before and you can be sure they will believe they can win it again.

The Pakistan squad is: Safaraz Ahmed (captain), Nasir Jamshaid, Jamshaid Ahmed, Ali Asad, Akhtar Ayub, Muhammad Fahim, Riaz Kail, Ali Khan, Anwer Ali Khan, Muhammad Malik, Ibrahim Muhammad, Laiq Muhammad, Rameez Raja and Syed Wasim.

Manager - Aftab Baluch, Coach - Mansoor Rana, physiotherapist - Thomas Grant.

South Africa hope to reign without the rain

South Africa's current crop of young players will be hoping to avoid a repeat of the fate that befell their predecessors the last time the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup (ICC U/19 CWC) was held in Sri Lanka, in 2000.

Six years ago the Proteas arrived for the tournament with a powerful batting line-up that included future Test captain Graeme Smith and Jacques Rudolph and looked capable of mounting a significant challenge.

But when rain washed out all three of their first round matches while it relented to allow other teams in their group to play at least once, they found themselves missing out on the Super League stage of the tournament.

South Africa were relegated to the Plate competition and although they won that event, beating Bangladesh in the final, that was only a minor consolation to Smith - the top run-scorer in the tournament - and his team mates.

This good news for South Africa this time around is that they should have less reason to worry about the weather. This ICC U/19 CWC is taking place almost a month later than the one in 2000 and February is traditionally one of the driest months in Sri Lanka.

It means the players can devote all their concentration to the job in hand - playing good, winning cricket - and that focus will be essential because South Africa have a tough job just to get into the Super League.

They find themselves in one of the toughest first round groups, Group B, as they have been drawn with 2004's losing finalists the West Indies along with Australia, the 1988 and 2002 winners, and tournament newcomers the United States of America.

And as only two sides go through to that Super League stage from each group it means at least one Test-playing side from Group B will be left with plenty of disappointment after the tournament's opening week. South Africa will be hoping it is not them and they have plenty of reason for optimism despite modest form in the lead-up period.

They may have finished fifth out of the six teams in action in last November's Afro-Asian U/19 Cup in Vishakapatnam (they won just one match, their opening encounter against Zimbabwe), but they still possess several extremely talented players.

That fact was shown up not only in India but also during the U/19 Cricket Week in South Africa in December 2005.

One of the side's leading batsmen is likely to be Brett Thompson. The right-hander from Eastern Province (EP) made 71 against Northerns and 116 not out against Free State, one of only four individual hundreds during that Cricket Week.

Plenty will be expected of Thompson and plenty, too, will be expected of captain Dean Elgar. A left-hander from Free State, he was a consistent performer in the Afro-Asian U/19 Cup and made 81 against EP and 99 against Border in December's domestic action.

Elgar can also bowl left-arm spin (he took 4-17 against Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland in one match) and he is one of several players who may be expected to fill a slow-bowling role for the side.

The captain is joined in the spin department by fellow left-armer Jean Symes and off-spinners Mafinki Serame and Richard Das Neves and that means the Proteas have plenty of options, something that could stand them in very good stead on what may prove to be spin-friendly pitches.

Symes comes into the tournament off the back of some impressive form in the Cricket Week. He took 5-21 for Gauteng against EP and also returned figures of 1-14 in nine overs against eventual tournament winners Western Province (WP) after earlier scoring 68 in the same match.

Other batsmen to look out for include Pieter Daneel (the Proteas' leading player in the Afro-Asian U/19 Cup), Romano Ramoo, vice-captain Richard Levi and wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter.

The pace attack will probably be led by right-arm fast bowler Craig Alexander. He is the only member of the squad with previous ICC U/19 CWC experience after playing in the 2004 event in Bangladesh and he is also one of only two players with first-class experience (Symes is the other).

Alexander will be supported by fellow WP pace bowler Malusi Siboto, who also impressed in the Cricket Week, Mthokozisi Shezi and Wayne Parnell, an accurate left-armer, amongst others.

If South Africa do make it through as one of the top two sides in their Group then things are unlikely to get any easier for them as they will probably then face either the hosts Sri Lanka or the tournament favourites India in the Super League quarter-final.

Both sides beat them heavily in the Afro-Asian U/19 Cup in November but this is a new tournament and Elgar and coach Ray Jennings, who this time last year was in charge of the senior side, are unlikely to allow any negative thoughts to hang around for long.

The South Africa squad is: Dean Elgar (captain), Richard Levi (vice-captain), Craig Alexander, Pieter Daneel, Richard Das Neves, Craig Kieswetter, Grant Makoena, Wayne Parnell, Romano Ramoo, Mafinki Serame, Mthokozisi Shezi, Malusi Siboto, Jean Symes and Brett Thompson. Manager - Jay Naidoo, Coach - Ray Jennings, physiotherapist - Terry-Jill Malherbe, Technical Advisor - Anton Ferreira.

USA face baptism of fire

The United States of America (USA) face a baptism of fire when they play in their first-ever ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup (ICC U/19 CWC) in Sri Lanka next month.

The youngsters have been drawn in one of the two groups that include three Test-playing sides - Group B - and will face the beaten finalists from 2004, the West Indies, together with South Africa and two-time winners Australia.

It all adds up to an intimidating prospect for the side that qualified for the tournament thanks to victories over all their regional rivals - Canada, Bermuda, Argentina and the Cayman Islands - in Toronto last August.

Even the most ardent USA cricket fan will recognise that respectability is the most attainable goal for the squad, especially in conditions none of the players will have encountered before.

But in their favour is the fact those players are being guided by a coach who has seen it all before, the former West Indies batsman Larry Gomes.

Gomes played 60 Tests and 83 ODIs between 1976 and 1987 (including a World Cup final at Lord's in 1983), was part of one of the greatest sides ever to play the game and his experience as a mentor to the players is likely to be vital over the next few weeks.

Having said all that, the players clearly have plenty of raw talent, as they have demonstrated over the past six months.

To start with, they defied the odds to win last August's Toronto tournament as most casual observers were expecting Canada, whose senior side qualified for next year's ICC Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean the previous month, to sweep all before them.

It did not turn out that way as the USA won their opening match against their more fancied opponents thanks to a handy batting display and a determined effort in the field.

Their score of 246 was built around 67 from 16 year-old opener Ravi Timbawala and other contributions from Kumar Ramsabad (42), captain Hemant Punoo (32) and Dunae Nathaniel (22).

Then leg-spinner Anil Deopersaud (3-44) and opening bowler Mohammad Rehman (2-49) played major roles as Canada were dismissed for 207, well short of the victory target.

With a victory like that under their belts in the first match it would have been easy for the USA to sit back and relax but, to their credit, they pressed on and hammered the other three sides in the competition.

Bowling first on each occasion they dismissed Bermuda and the Cayman Islands for 86 apiece and Argentina for 105 and knocked off the runs with the minimum of fuss when their time came to reply.

Chief destroyer with the ball in those three matches was vice-captain for the ICC U/19 CWC Abhimanyu Rajp, an off-spinner who captured 5-7 against Bermuda, 5-45 against Argentina and 1-18 against the Cayman Islands in the match that confirmed qualification for Sri Lanka.

Punoo, also an off-spinner, weighed in with 2-6 against Bermuda and 4-12 against the Cayman Islands and fittingly he was at the crease when victory in that final match was secured, unbeaten on 42.

Other players to watch out for with the bat in Sri Lanka could be opener Sumon Bari, who made a couple of solid contributions during the Toronto tournament, and wicketkeeper Akeem Dodson.

Dodson, who was born in Queens, New York is one of four players in the squad born in the USA along with Deopersaud, Ramsabad and Timbawala.

He was also part of the New York/North East (NY/NE) side that won the National U/19 Tournament played in Los Angeles in November, scoring 76 and 71 not out in successive matches, the latter innings helping his side secure the title against the North West/South West side.

NY/NE were the only one of the four teams in the tournament that won all three matches they played and also included Punoo and Ramsabad. The other two line-ups taking part were Atlantic (including Nathaniel) and Central West/Central East, comfortably the weakest side of the quartet.

Since that tournament the build-up to Sri Lanka has continued with two warm-up matches in Florida against a USA "A" team led by senior captain Steve Massiah, and a tour of India.

The U/19s lost their first meeting with the "A" side on 14 January when they were bowled out for 139 chasing the opposition's 176-9 but they could take some comfort from 50 by Dodson and three wickets for the left-arm seamer Nisarg Patel.

And they got their revenge the following day when, batting first, they made 212 (with 50 from Punoo, 44 from Bari and 41 in just 20 balls from all-rounder Nathaniel) and then bowled the "A" side out for 182.

That was encouraging and so was the side's first match on their tour of India on 25 January, which resulted in a four-wicket win over a Hyderabad U/17 line-up. Nisarg Patel took 3-14, Deopersaud captured 2-11 and another spinner, left-armer Alexandrino Kirton, took 2-19.

The USA then edged home with six wickets down, with the major contributions coming from Timbawala (35) and Bari (25).

It all suggests plenty of reasons for optimism in the USA camp and whatever the results the squad achieves in Sri Lanka, the whole period from qualifying to taking part in the ICC U/19 CWC should be a terrific learning curve for the players which can only benefit them and cricket in the USA.

The USA squad is: Hemant Punoo (captain), Abhimanyu Rajp (vice-captain), Dominic Audain, Sumon Bari, Romeno Deane, Anil Deopersaud, Akeem Dodson, Alexandrino Kirton, Dunae Nathaniel, Mrunal Patel, Nisarg Patel, Kumar Ramsabad, Mohammad Rehman and Ravi Timbawala.

Manager - Ashok Patel, Coach - Larry Gomes, Trainer/Physiotherapist - Basil Butcher.

West Indies "attitude is right"

West Indies team manager Jimmy Adams believes the attitude of his players is spot-on ahead of the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup (ICC U/19 CWC). Adams, who played in the first ever tournament in 1988 and later captained the West Indies at Test and ODI level, is currently presiding over the side's pre-tournament tour of Pakistan.

And even though they lost against the home side in Karachi on Friday to go 2-1 down in a four-match series, Adams likes what he has seen from his players so far.

"I only met up with them a couple of weeks ago but their attitude has really impressed me," he said. "They seem fairly well focussed. "I have seen too many cases of talent going begging because of the wrong attitude but that does not seem to be the case with these players "The attitude is right so they are adapting very quickly and we are delighted with the way the cricket has been going," Adams added.

Despite that narrow loss on Friday the West Indies have been very competitive on the tour so far, winning their opening match against a representative side before a narrow four-wicket loss in the first match against their Pakistan counterparts last Sunday.

The side bounced back with a seven-run win in the second match on Tuesday but lost today with the remaining match set to take place tomorrow (Saturday 28 January) before the team moves on to Colombo. "This time in Pakistan has been vital for us," said Adams.

"The boys had training camps (in Trinidad) before and after Christmas and lots of them have been playing trial games with the big men ahead of our domestic season.

"It means they are not short of cricket but now we are finally seeing them in match action and we can assess how they are coping with conditions which will be similar to those we expect to find in Sri Lanka."

The West Indies are all too aware of the need to hit the round running when they get to Colombo because they find themselves in a real cut-throat group - Group B - that includes fellow big guns Australia and South Africa as well as the United States of America.

And with only two sides able to progress to the Super League stage even one defeat could be enough to shatter any dreams a team may have of lifting the ICC U/19 CWC trophy.

"Everyone is aware of it," said Adams as he reflected on how tight Group B could become. "But one of the jobs of the team management is to make sure the players are focussed on the processes they have to go through, about playing good cricket, rather than worrying about the end result.

"If we play our best cricket then the rest should look after itself and if we still get beaten despite having done that then so be it," he added.

One of the West Indies' main strengths is their spin attack and that should leave them well-placed to take advantage of conditions that traditionally favour the slower bowlers. They have off-spinners Sharmarh Brooks, Andre McCarthy and Sunil Narine, as well as left-arm spinner Rishi Bachan, the one player in the squad who took part in the 2004 tournament in Bangladesh, when the West Indies lost to Pakistan in the final.

Opening batsman Richard Ramdeen is also expected to bowl his left-arm spin at some stage and captain Leon Johnson can also bowl in the same style. It all means the side appears almost spoiled for choice in the slow-bowling department.

And, encouragingly for the West Indies, their spinners have impressed in Pakistan against batsmen schooled in playing that style of bowling. 17 year-old Brooks from Barbados took 3-34 in the first match against Pakistan while Trinidad and Tobago's Bachan captured 4-46 in Tuesday's win.

Bachan is one of five Trinidad and Tobago representatives in the squad while there are three players each from Guyana and Barbados, two from the Windward Islands and one from Jamaica.

Spin is not the only weapon in the West Indies' bowling arsenal. They also have some useful young fast bowlers in Nelon Pascal, Kemar Roach and Javon Searles with the later taking five wickets in Friday's match in Karachi.

With the bat Ramdeen (whose 18th birthday falls between the two Super League semi-finals, on 16 February) and Gajanand Singh have been opening the batting in Pakistan, and Singh and Jason Mohammed scored half-centuries in the latest tour match.

Captain Johnson, from Guyana, has batted at number three on the tour and made 117 in last Tuesday's victory while ieron Pollard made 52 in the same match.

The West Indies also have options in the wicketkeeping department with Andre Fletcher and William Perkins vying for the gloves, although both men can play as specialist batsmen if required.

It is early days and the cut and thrust of the ICC U/19 CWC will be the true test of the players' abilities, but the early indications are positive and reports of the demise of West Indies cricket, prompted by the senior side's slide down the LG ICC Rankings, may be proved to be premature if some of these players can fulfil their apparent potential.

"We still have the raw material, there is no doubt about that," said Adams.

The West Indies squad is: Leon Johnson (captain), Jason Mohammed (vice-captain), Rishi Bachan, Shamarh Brooks, Andre Fletcher, Andre McCarthy, Sunil Narine, Nelon Pascal, William Perkins, Kieron Pollard, Richard Ramdeen, Kemar Roach, Javon Searles and Gajanand Singh.

Manager - Jimmy Adams, Coach - Roddy Estwick, Physiotherapist - Phyllis Burnett.

(To be continued)