“Important to start well” – Windies U19 Head Coach as World Cup begins

A Group D clash between West Indies’ Under-19s and Tanzania’s U19s are on the cards at the High-Performance Oval in Windhoek, Namibia today when the International Cricket Council (ICC) 2026 Men’s U19 World Cup begins.
The Caribbean squad are coming off of a dominant end to their preparations, following a thumping 229- run victory over Japan in their second warm-up match on Tuesday.
Head Coach of the West Indies Under-19 side, Rohan Nurse, reflected on their preparations and his elation at their progress.
“The acclimatisation process is still actually going on, ‘cause ultimately, we would’ve travelled for two days, then had a shorter practice session due to weather and then going straight into the first warm-up game. So, some players are still going through that process,” the Head Coach informed.
He continued, “But I think the players are slowly but surely getting there and the staff has worked very hard behind the scenes to put things in place to help them. So, we’re happy with where we’re at right now.”

The Coach went on to touch on Tuesday’s warm-up match, singing the praises of the team’s youngest players in Tanez Francis and Guyanese Shamar Apple.
Nurse divulged, “The batting performance was relatively good, knowing that we had some information with regard to the conditions, what the par score is at that ground. Service was a little up and down and stopping as well, but we wanted to use the opportunity to have a bat and adapt to what conditions are there.
“When Tanez and Shamar came together, the game was probably a little bit in the balance: we had just lost Jewel and the score was 150-4, but those two young men batted really, really well in partnership. Shamar strike the ball with a lot of authority, scoring 124 from 65 balls and Tanez batted through the innings scoring 122. It was very pleasing for the two youngest members of the team to show their ability, understanding and growth. To score a century at this level, albeit in a warm-up game, is still very valuable for them and their development and confidence.”
Looking ahead at the opening fixture, the Head Coach stressed on the importance of taking every game seriously.
The Windies U19 Head Coach declared, “Every game in this World Cup is very important and that’s something that we have been stressing from warm-up games, straight through. There’s always value on every game. It’s very important that the guys start the tournament very well, and that’s one of the major focuses, that we do hit the ground running.”
Aside from the clash between West Indies and Tanzania, India will battle USA and Zimbabwe take on Scotland in a packed opening day for this year’s U19 World Cup.