ST JOHN’S—Stroke-maker Kimani Melius has been named to lead a 15-man West Indies Under-19 squad to the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup which bowls off in South Africa next January.
The right-hander, who hails from St Lucia, is one of three surviving members from the disappointing campaign in New Zealand last year, with left-arm spinner Ashmead Nedd and seamer Nyeem Young also included.
West Indies Under-19s will clash with England Under-19s and Sri Lanka Under-19s in a Tri-Nations Series here next month, before heading to the showpiece which runs from January 17 to February 9.
“The majority of players have been in the programme for 12 months and the Tri-Series represents the first competitive action for all bar three of the squad,” said chief youth selector Robert Haynes.
“Melius, Nedd and Young all featured in the 2018 World Cup and the experiences they gained in New Zealand will be tapped into and filtered through the team.”
Head coach Graeme West added: “I would like to congratulate the 15 players selected to represent the West Indies in both the upcoming U19 Tri-Series and the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup.
“The Tri-Series was always a key component to the team’s preparation and it will be used to establish our game strategies and reinforce the key messages that the support staff have identified as essential to playing successful white ball cricket.”
He added: “Everything we have been working on over the last 12 months has been designed to prepare the team for the opening World Cup games against Australia and England on January 18 and 20.”
The squad includes Trinidadians Jayden Seales, Joshua James, Avinash Mahabirsingh, Matthew Patrick and Leonardo Julian.
West Indies will do battle in a tough Group B alongside England, Australia and minnows Nigeria, with the top two teams from each of the four groups advancing to the next round.
Melius, who averaged 38 at the last Under-19 World Cup, will lead the batting unit while selectors have opted from a strong pace element in order to exploit conditions in South Africa.
West Indies Under-19s entered the 2018 showpiece as defending champions but finished third in Group A to miss out on a quarterfinal spot, and eventually finished tenth overall.
SQUAD: Kevlon Anderson, Daniel Beckford, Matthew Forde, Joshua James, Nyeem Young, Antonio Morris, Ashmead Nedd, Mbeki Joseph, Leonardo Julian, Avinash Mahabirsingh, Kirk McKenzie, Ramon Simmonds, Matthew Patrick, Jayden Seales.