Some of the best young players in the Caribbean have started to assemble in Trinidad for the Regional Under-17 Tournament, beginning on Monday.
The event will be used as a feeder for the West Indies Under-19 team to defend the ICC Under-19 World Cup title which Shimron Hetmyer’s side won last February in Bangladesh.
WICB High Performance Coach Graeme West will be watching the tournament with an eye on selections to participate in the next ICC Under-19 World Cup in early 2018 in New Zealand.
One of the players featuring in this event is Trinidad & Tobago batting all-rounder Kirstan Kallicharan, a member of Hetmyer’s successful team at the last Youth World Cup.
“This Under-17 tournament is crucial in the development of players in West Indies cricket,” said West, who was head coach of the World champion side. “It is a chance to identify players to form part of the future of the game in the region.
“We played well to win the ICC Youth World Cup earlier this year and we want to continue that success as it brought great joy to the people of the Caribbean. We have Kirstan coming back and he has done well in previous tournaments – and has the benefit of playing at a higher level, so we expect him to demonstrate his immense talent.
“A lot of good players have come through this tournament. We also want to make sure we look at all the players, as they move up towards playing in the Professional Cricket League and for the West Indies at the senior international level.”
The RU17 is part of the WICB’s Summer of Cricket which also featured the Regional Under-19 Girls’ Tournament in Trinidad, as well as the ongoing Regional Women’s Tournament in Guyana, along with the upcoming Regional Under-19 Tournament in St. Vincent and the Regional Under-15 Tournament in Grenada.
The Under-17 tournament will take place from Monday, July 11 to Sunday, July 17, with a round-robin format featuring 50-over matches. The matches will be played at Queen’s Park Oval, the National Cricket Centre, Gilbert Park and Inshan Ali Park.
SCHEDULE OF MATCHES
Monday, July 11
Trinidad & Tobago vs Windward Islands – Gilbert Park
Barbados vs Jamaica – National Cricket Centre
Guyana vs Leeward Islands – Island Ali Park
Tuesday, July 12
Jamaica vs Trinidad & Tobago – National Cricket Centre
Leeward Islands vs Windward Islands – Gilbert Park
Guyana vs Barbados – Island Ali Park
Thursday, July 14
Trinidad & Tobago vs Leeward Islands – Island Ali Park
Jamaica vs Guyana – National Cricket Centre
Windward Islands vs Barbados – Gilbert Park
Saturday, July 17
Guyana vs Trinidad & Tobago – National Cricket Centre
Barbados vs Leeward Islands – Island Ali Park
Windward Island vs Jamaica – Queen’s Park Oval
Sunday, July 18
Trinidad & Tobago vs Barbados – Queen’s Park Oval
Guyana vs Windward Islands – National Cricket Centre
Leeward Islands vs Jamaica – Gilbert Park
(Taken from windiescricket.com)