DUBAI: The West Indies will look to emulate Pakistan by winning back-to-back titles at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup when the 12th edition of the tournament will be held in New Zealand from January 13 to February 3.
Shimron Hetmeyer, who led the side to victory in Bangladesh two years ago, is egging the Windies team to bring back the cup again, as is pace bowler Alzzari Joseph, who was also part of that team and is now a member of the senior national side.
On the other hand, England pace bowler Liam Plunkett reminisces his time during the 2004 edition, when the 1998 champions reached the semifinals.
He remembers the top players of the time and advised players to be competitive and look to learn something from the tournament.
He speaks about how it gives players the chance of learning to adapt to different conditions and how it helped the careers of a whole generation of players that he has played with.
Reflecting his views on the tournament, Plunkett, who played the prestigious tournament in 2004, said, “Being involved in the ICC U19 World Cup, I felt like a professional cricketer, played against some talented teams which had some future international players. It led to the path for my international career. For me, because I was playing in a different country, I was learning how to play on different wickets, different environment, against different teams around the world, people got different tactics, so all that stuff put me in good stead for the future.”
West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph called on all the players participating in the prestigious tournament to take advantage of the opportunity and make every chance count.
“It’s a good platform for younger players....You have to take every opportunity you get and make every chance count. Boys, come out, play hard, really play as a team and try your very best to get the World Cup back home to us in the West Indies,” Joseph, who was a member of the champion's team in 2016, said.
Meanwhile, West Indies captain Jason Holder said, “Be the frontrunners, set the tone in every game you play."