West Indies Under-19 cricket team had a disastrous start to their month-long stay in Bangladesh. The Caribbean youngsters reached Bangladesh several days before the ongoing U-19 World Cup, only to experience a 3-0 series sweep in a youth ODI series that served as preparation for the global event.
But over time, the West Indies adapted to the conditions, overcame their weakness against spin and emerged as the finalist of the World Cup after beating Bangladesh by three wickets in the semi-final yesterday in Mirpur.
Windies captain Shimron Hetmyer, who played a pivotal role against the junior Tigers scoring a 59-ball 60 in pursuit of 227, credited his side’s ability to transform themselves and get accustomed to the conditions.
“It’s a very big transformation. Coming from the West Indies, where most of the balls don’t spin much and coming here to Bangladesh where the ball spins, the guys just needed a little time to adjust to the pitches and to the weather, all in one,” Hetmyer informed the media in the post-match press conference.
This is the second instance of the Caribbean youngsters progressing to the grand finale of the World Cup and yesterday’s win comes at a moment when the game is going through a tough time back home. The West Indies Cricket Board at the moment is mired in a tussle with the senior cricketers regarding their remuneration package. The long-standing issue has forced the WICB to think of sending a second-string team to the 2016 World Twenty20 after the board failed to negotiate a deal with the cricketers.
Hetmyer though was reluctant to comment on the issue when queried by the media personnel.
“I won’t really get into too much of that. For my team, I think we have a very good team here and a very capable set of young men here for the next five-10 years,” said the left-handed batsman.
