England U19 Head Coach Jon Lewis wants to use the pre-Christmas tri-series in the Caribbean to fine tune his team’s preparations ahead of the World Cup in South Africa in the New Year.
West Indies U19 and Sri Lanka U19 will be the opposition in the series in Antigua, with matches starting on 6 December.
England’s 16-strong squad will not only be fighting to win the series and drive momentum into the World Cup, but also to prove to Lewis and the coaching staff that they deserve a place in the final squad.
“For me a lot of it is about rehearsing what we’re going to do in the World Cup, so winning is a big part of that,” Lewis said ahead of the tour.
“There’s also time to get real clarity in who’s going to play which roles and how they’re going to go about their business. It’ll be fascinating to see how this group performs.
“We’ve had them for a decent period of time and I see each individual really improving their game and now it’s about putting games together as a team.”
The West Indies will be England’s first opponents in the World Cup, with the teams facing off in Kimberley on 20 January. In Antigua, like in South Africa, England’s young players will have to quickly adapt to playing conditions and opponents they will be unfamiliar with.
The Caribbean will be a particular mystery if recent England tours are anything to go by. The Lions toured in early 2018 and found slow, spinning pitches, while the senior team experienced the traditional hard-and-fast surfaces this January.
One person who knows about cricketing cultures in the two opponents is the team’s fielding coach Nic Pothas. The former Hampshire wicketkeeper has experience working with both the West Indies and Sri Lanka and is one of the consultant coaches working with the England youngsters this winter.
England’s players also have the opportunity to tap into the knowledge and experience of Ian Bell and Min Patel this winter, with former England captain Michael Vaughan also spending a session with the squad’s leaders.
Warwickshire and England batsman Bell comes in as batting coach in place of Mike Yardy, who took up a coaching role with New South Wales during the summer, with Patel continuing as spin coach.
And Vaughan passed on his experience to the leadership group, including captain George Balderson and vice-captain George Hill, at a recent training camp in the Performance Centre in Loughborough to help develop their leadership potential.
“We try to create an environment where the players feel comfortable and are able to trust each other and back themselves to execute under the pressure of competitive situations in games. We’ve attempted to develop this culture over the past couple of years in order to give the players the best chance to showcase their skills.
“As we saw over the summer, the teams that took wickets consistently over the course of the 50 overs were generally the most successful teams. That sounds quite obvious but we’re encouraging the players to continue attacking rather than taking the defensive option.
“One of the learnings was about doing things well for slightly longer. With our batting group we saw glimpses of real quality but we weren’t as consistent as I’d like us to be. Our fielding and bowling was efficient, and at times containing, so I’d like us to show how we can get people out.
“As always in sport, there will be the presence of selection decisions and dealing with individual success and failure. We are going to the Caribbean to win and to make sure we are clear as to what our best side is moving into a World Cup.”
Fixtures