South Africa Under-19’s are preparing to travel to the Caribbean, and if all goes as intended, their first stop will be at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.

But travel bans to certain countries, as well as concern about the latest coronavirus variant, have led to some uncertainty surrounding the warmup series.

Donald Dave Albert is the acting president of the Saint Lucia National Cricket Association, and he told MBC Sports that he is hopeful of positive news in the coming days.

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel announced the West Indies Rising Stars U19s 15-member squad and five reserves for the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup to be played in the West Indies in January-February 2022.

The squad includes two Saint Lucians, including Ackeem Auguste, a left-handed middle-order batsman, wo has been named captain. 

The players were selected following the recent high performance camp and preparation matches which featured 28 players at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua and Barbuda.

The West Indies Rising Stars U19s have been drawn in Group D alongside Australia, Scotland and Sri Lanka for the 16-team tournament which will be played from January 14 to February 5. 

Matches will be played in Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis, and Guyana. 

MBC Sports caught up with the new West Indies U19 captain earlier today, and he says he is looking forward to the challenge ahead.

Meanwhile, planning is underway for the West Indies Under-19’s to play a five match warmup series here in Saint Lucia later this month.

Congratulations to Luc Chevrier, Saint Lucia’s first and only medallist at the inaugural Junior Pan Am Games in Cali-Valle, Colombia. On Saturday, 4 December, Chevrier, who represented Saint Lucia at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year, captured bronze in the men’s dinghy sailing event, working his way back from fourth place to climb the medal rostrum. Earlier in the week, in athletics, Michael Joseph set a national junior record in the men’s 400m on his way to the event final, where he placed fifth.