ADAMS
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):
JIMMY ADAMS, manager of the West Indies Under-19 team, says the team's tour of Pakistan and Sri Lanka will serve as great preparation for senior team duty.
"What we have here is a bright, talented and ambitious group of players. It will be one of the best tours a young player can go on," the former West Indies captain told reporters before the team left Barbados for the Asian tour Monday.
"It will be the first time outside of the Caribbean for a lot of them and will be great preparation for the ones who will eventually move on to bigger and better things in the future."
The team will play five One Day matches in Pakistan before going on to Sri Lanka where they will contest the ICC Youth World Cup in February.
Adams, the Jamaican left-hander who played 54 Tests between 1992 and 2001, was a member of the West Indies team that played in the first Youth World Cup in Australia in 1988 with Brian Lara as captain.
Adams also noted that he had never thought about being a manager of a Caribbean side but when approached, decided it was his duty to make a contribution to the game in the region.
He was given the job last week when Roger Harper stepped down to take up the job as coach of Kenya.
"I am delighted to be working with the young players and guiding the next generation of West Indies cricket," Adams said.
OUT OF THE BLUE
"I never thought of management. It caught me out of the blue. I didn't have any plans for this part of the year and I was asked to perform the role and I said yes."
He added: "It's an honour to be asked to carry these kids to an event like this. They will see a lot of conditions and features they have never seen before. The schedule is very hectic and it parallels full international cricket."
"I was once a youth cricketer and people made contributions to my development. I have decided to give something back."
TEAM: Leon Johnson (captain), Jason Mohammed (vice captain), Richard Ramdeen, Gajanand Singh, Andre Fletcher, Nelson Pascal, Kemar Roach, Javon Searles, Shamarh Brooks, Andre McCarthy, William Perkins, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Rishi Bachan; Jimmy Adams (manager), Roddy Estwick (coach), Phyllis Burnett (physio).
