West Indies U19s confident ahead of Australia clash

The West Indies Under-19 Rising Stars open their world cup campaign confidently tomorrow against Australia after having lost all their warm-up matches

The West Indies U19s clash against Australia in their opening match at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.

In the practice matches; West Indies' batting collapsed against India where they were bowled out. Subsequently, they went down against South Africa, bundled out for 189 in 43.2 overs at Providence.

However, the West Indies team is still confident ahead of tomorrow’s opening match as they assure that with a with more effort, their quality batter and bowlers and good fielding unit will perform well.

U19 Captain Ackeem Auguste said “I think all the guys have prepared well leading up to the tournament. I think all of us have been working very hard and I think moving forward we just stick to our basics, stick to the plans and we all have our personal goals but moving towards the bigger goal as a team – that’s the most important thing.”

Notably, the ICC U19 world cup matches also give Cricket West Indies the opportunity to identify future stars of the game.

On the Australian side, U19 Captain Cooper Connolly are also full of confidence, after scoring a brilliant 117 in a warm-up match against India earlier this week.

While disappointed to lose by nine wickets in Tuesday's warm-up, Connolly - who lead the Cricket Australia XI at the U19 National Championships in 2019 – is convinced his team will make it onto the Super League finals.

Additionally, Connolly said it would be a new challenge on the traditionally spin-friendly wickets in the Caribbean. But with a free mind and a willingness to adapt, Connolly said he already felt at home in Guyana and is looking to play with his natural flair no matter the situation.

"I might have a little bit of an edge against the West Indies, but I've sort of put that to the side and just started fresh and just tried to play my game," Connolly said.

"I just want to play how I played against India and score some runs for Australia."