Four T&T players have been included in the West Indies Under-19 training squad following the conclusion of the West Indies Cricket Board Regional 50-over Youth tournament in Jamaica, on Sunday.T&T finished third among the seven teams with three wins, two losses and one no result. Guyana defended its title, defeating Jamaica by four wickets in Sunday's final at Manchester High School.
The T&T quartet of fast bowler Akil Seetal, left-handed batsman Keagan Simmons and all-rounders Kirstan Kallicharan and Jyd Goolie all stayed in Jamaica to begin training with the West Indies Under-19 team. West Indies will compete in the International Cricket Council Youth Tournament in Bangladesh next year.
Fast bowler Anderson Phillip also had an excellent tournament and T&T manager Surujdath Mahabir believes he should have been included in the West Indies training squad. Mahabir said: "He had a great tournament, as a matter of fact he should have been in the training squad." Mahabir also believes 15-year-old right-hander Cephas Cooper is a top prospect for the future.
T&T started the competition slowly, losing its first two matches against Barbados and Guyana as a result of disappointing batting performances. Mahabir said: "Basically the first two games were not up to standard. We had too many dot balls and we dropped some crucial catches against Barbados."
In the first round against Barbados, T&T posted 159/9 batting first, before Barbados scored 160/9 in 45.1 overs. Against Guyana in round two the T&T batting faltered again, scoring 154/8 before Guyana got to 157/7 in 37 overs.T&T bounced back to win the next three matches against Windward Islands, Canada and Jamaica.
In the last round against the Leeward Islands the match was abandoned after the Leeward Islands scored 235/9, a match Mahabir felt T&T would have won.