Left to right: Joshua James, Nyeem Young, Jayden Seales, Matthew Forde, Ramon Simmonds and coach Kenny Benjamin (kneeling)

When the West Indies U19 World Cup squad was picked in November 2019, new Talent ID Manager, Robert Haynes elaborated on the squad selection focus on picking a strong pace bowling group.

“We have looked to develop a strong seam bowling attack and the five seamers selected all offer something different. Seales and Forde were successful in the U19s Rising Stars Tournament that took place in St. Vincent and the Grenadines while Simmonds was the surprise package with his extra pace and bounce.”

Under the guidance of assistant coach and former West Indies fast bowler Kenny Benjamin, Matthew Forde, Jayden Seales, Ramon Simmonds, Joshua James and Nyeem Young are the latest West Indies U19 bowling attack continuing the long tradition of building the bowling around a strong pace unit.

Forde, Seales and Young spoke to CWI Media and shared their personal and team goals heading into the U19 World Cup. 

Jayden Seales:

As the fastest bowler in the under 19 team, how excited are you to bowl in South African conditions?

I am very excited to bowl in the South African conditions mainly because the pitches up here would suit the faster bowlers and would allow more opportunities to get wickets with the new and old ball.

How has the fast bowling group been enjoyed bowling together?

The fast bowling unit has enjoyed bowling with each other since Tri-Series with the fast bowlers always making early inroads and keeping down the runs at the top of the innings.

Compared to the bowling in Caribbean, how different have you found bowling in South African conditions? 

The bounce is true right through the innings as compared to in the Caribbean where the pitches tend to slow down after the first 20 overs.

What is the biggest thing the fast bowlers has learnt so far working with Kenny Benjamin ?

We’ve learned that consistently hitting the pitch and hitting hard lengths would force the batsmen to make mistakes.

What is your & fast bowlers personal goals for the U19 World Cup ?

My personal goal for this World Cup is to take 10 wickets at an economy rate of 3.5 and for the team to win the World Cup

Matthew Forde:

You were the tournament MVP during the Rising Stars U19 tournament in St.Vincent. How much of a confidence boost was that for you?

Getting MVP was really a confidence booster and helped my selection for the West Indies U19 team. There are stand out individuals who perform consistently every year and the St.Vincent tournament was really about bragging rights because it was the final year in the regional U19s for me and many other senior players.

How has the fast bowling group been enjoyed bowling together?

The Rising Stars U19 Tri-Series was really about coming together as a team as it was the first time we played together and it was a plus for us bowlers. We worked very well and built partnerships and an understanding of being happy for each other.

Compared to the bowling in Caribbean, how different have you found bowling in South African conditions? 

Bowling in South Africa has been somewhat difficult. The air [at altitude] is a lot thinner than we are used to back home making it a lot more difficult to breathe. The wind direction does not blow from left to right of the pitch, from the games we’ve played you either are running with or against the wind so you have to adapt very quickly to prevent how quickly or slowly you are getting to the crease.

What is the biggest thing the fast bowlers has learnt so far working with Kenny Benjamin ?

Coach Kenny usually stresses on mostly use of the short ball and one of his key saying is it is a wicket taking ball and you have to give it your all. 

What is your and the fast bowlers personal goals for the U19 World Cup ?

As a bowling group we want to continue our form from the Tri-Series which was terrific. We are putting our all into it and as a group we tend to go very hard, so we as bowlers enjoy to hear that and things could get very exciting.

Nyeem Young:

You have a dual role in the team as the number # 7 batsman and part of the pace bowling group. In discussion with coach West, how have you working to balance this key all-rounder role in the team ? 

I’ve been enjoying the role as the major all-rounder in the team and that has brought much success so far as shown in the recent tri-series and warm up games. In this role, coach West, coach Benjamin and I have been discussing the best way to get the most out of each role in every situation and the conversations came to to more of a mental aspect than the physical aspect.

We have been putting questions in place for myself to answer to know what is required from me to execute my physical skills.

How has the fast bowling group been enjoyed bowling together since the Tri-Series ?

The U19 Tri-Series brought a lot of success within the bowling group, especially with the fast bowling side. We are certainly high on confidence and continuously learning and enjoying each other’s success as a group.

Compared to the bowling in Caribbean, how different have you found bowling in South African conditions? 

The wickets so far in South Africa has been full with a lot of grass covering but still having a hard surface underneath. This helps the ball to carry more than in the Caribbean and continuous seam movements throughout the innings. Therefore this has helped us as a fast bowling group and we’re hoping to get the best out of it in the upcoming games.

What is yours & the fast bowlers personal goals for the U19 World Cup ?

Personally, I want to be able to be effective everytime I  bowl for the team. In the middle overs, to continue to pick up wickets while keeping it tight, and at the death, to  restrict batsmen from scoring quickly and also picking up wickets again. As a bowling unit, we want to continue to bowl how we have throughout the Tri-Series and be better everytime we bowl, leaving statements like the fast bowling group did back in 2016.