Two promising teenagers, Jordan Johnson and Isai Thorne, have received the call-up to join the West Indies Academy squad for the upcoming red and white-ball series against Ireland Academy, set to commence in Antigua on Friday.
They are among the four new additions to the squad, which also includes 22-year-old off-spinner Junior Sinclair and 22-year-old batting all-rounder Kadeem Alleyne. Notably, Alleyne will exclusively feature in the white-ball series, while Thorne will participate in the red-ball phase.
The talented all-rounder Nyeem Young has been named as the captain of the squad, and he will lead the team in three List A matches and two four-day first-class matches scheduled to be played from November 17 to December 5 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground and the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium.
Led the Academy in the Regional Super50 Cup
Young’s recent performances have been impressive, as he led the Academy in the Regional Super50 Cup, averaging 57 with the bat and emerging as the leading wicket-taker for his side with 12 scalps at an average of 17.
Graeme West, the Cricket West Indies high-performance manager, emphasized the significance of the Ireland Series in the CWI High Performance Pathway. He noted that this series is the first bilateral one since the introduction of the Academy program in July 2022. West expressed optimism about the development opportunities that the series will provide for the Academy squad, building on their promising performances in previous competitions.
The series will consist of both 50-over and red-ball four-day matches, allowing the Academy players to hone their skills further. West highlighted that the four-day games will be particularly valuable for players like Jordan Johnson, who previously performed exceptionally well for the West Indies Rising Stars Under-19 side during their tour of Sri Lanka earlier in the year.
The three 50-over matches will form the first segment of the series, scheduled to take place from November 17 to 21, with the four-day matches set to commence on November 25 at Coolidge.
The squad for the series includes: Nyeem Young (captain), Ackeem Auguste, Joshua Bishop, Teddy Bishop, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett, McKenny Clarke, Jordan Johnson, Leonardo Julien, Johann Layne, Matthew Nandu, Ashmead Nedd, Kelvin Pitman, Junior Sinclair, Kevin Wickham, Kadeem Alleyne (for white-ball matches only), and Isai Thorne (for red-ball matches only).
