Bajan woman physio for Windies Under-19s

ST JOHN’S: The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has appointed Barbadian Phyllis Burnett as physiotherapist to accompany the TCL-sponsored West Indies Under-19 team to the ICC Youth World Cup (YWC) in Bangladesh, starting February 15.

Burnett, a graduate of the School of Physiotherapy, UWI Mona, will also travel with the young squad for their pre-tournament camp in Sri Lanka. She attended numerous post-graduate courses, worked at the Barbados Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and has also been engaged as a physiotherapist with a number of sports groups. The Under-19 team will assemble in Trinidad and Tobago on January 22 and depart on January 25 to Sri Lanka, arriving on January 27 where they will play five practice games.

Fast bowler Ravi Rampaul, who is currently on tour of South Africa with the West Indies senior squad will join the Under-19s after the four-Test series concludes on January 5. The young West Indies team recently concluded a two-week camp in Trinidad. Chief Cricket Operations Officer of the WICB Zorol Bartley expressed his gratitude for the help given to the Under-19 camp. “I wish to thank all the people who assisted, especially the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) who arranged seminars, and Steve Gopensingh for his general assistance to the team,” Bartley said.

The preliminary round of matches in the YWC will be played on a round-robin basis and will have 16 teams in four groups. Young West Indies, one of the tournament favourites, will be in Group “D”, along with Pakistan, Ireland and Papua New Guinea. At the last ICC Youth World Cup in New Zealand two years ago, the West Indies were semi-finalists, beaten by eventual champions Australia.

Seven members of the current squad, including captain Dinesh Ramdhin, played on the West Indies youth team that won the 2000 Under-15 Costcutter World Cup in England. The other players from that triumphant unit going to Bangladesh are batsmen Tishan Maraj, Assad Fudadin, and Lendl Simmons, all-rounder Xavier Marshall, and pacers Rampaul and Lionel Baker.

Under-19 Squad:
Dinesh Ramdhin (captain), Kirk Edwards (vice-captain), Jonathan Augustus, Rishi Bachan, Lionel Baker, Assad Fudadin, Zamal Khan, Tishan Maraj, Xavier Marshall, Mervyn Matthew, Ravi Rampaul, Liam Sebastien, Lendl Simmons, Barrington Yearwood.