Young WI confident of success

Speaking before the departure of the 14 players and three officials, captain Leon Johnson indicated that traditionally the West Indies had been "very strong" at Under-19 level and his side was eager to continue the trend when they played in the tournament.

"We put in a lot of work in the camp last week and we are ready," he said. "I think we have a great chance of winning. The record will show that in those parts of the world (Asia) we play well.

"Also, at the Under-19 level, we have always been strong and we are looking to continue the trend. We are very strong at the junior level."

Before going to Sri Lanka, West Indies will visit Pakistan for five matches from January 18 to 28.

Johnson said the players had been discussing the possibility of using the tour to catapult their careers into the West Indies "A" team as well as securing full international colours.

"We have been talking about the future. We have been talking about looking to perform well to catapult ourselves into the West Indies senior team," the left-handed batsman said.

"As individuals as well as a team we all believe we can form the future of West Indies cricket."

The Youth World Cup will be played from February 5 to 20 in Colombo. The West Indies were beaten by Pakistan in the in the final of the last World Cup which was played in Bangladesh in March 2004.