TRINIDAD and Tobago open their Cricket West Indies U17 Super 50 Championship campaign against 2019 runners-up Jamaica at Inshan Ali Park, Preysal on Tuesday from 9.30am.
The Justin Jagessar-captained unit will be hoping to improve on their fourth-place finish at the 2019 edition. The squad has been prepared by head coach Rayad Emrit and manager Rajendra Mangalie.
Over the past few weeks, the TT team have been training at the National Cricket Centre (NCC), Couva.
Although persistent rainfall hampered some of their outdoor preparations, the youthful bunch utilised the indoor facilities and was still able to squeeze in a practice match against a TT U19 team, which they won.
The boys held their final pre-tournament training session at the cricket centre on Monday and are intent on producing a winning start.
Left-arm pacer Jacen Agard, who won the U15 regional title with TT in 2019, joins former teammates Jagessar, Andrew Rambarran and Kavir Boodoosingh among others, in chase of the U17 crown.
Agard said the mood in the camp is positive ahead of their opening test.
'The team spirit good. The coach and skipper are leading from the front and everyone is comfortable. Some of the guys and I won the previous U15 tournament so we somewhat know what to expect. But it's a new age group so there will be challenges,' he said.
Agard featured in several TT Cricket Board Youth Series and franchise competitions earlier this year and said he's learnt a lot competing against cricketers with more experience than him.
'Having played against bigger and tougher opposition I have grown to be more aggressive with my bowling. Playing for the TT Premier Select team under coach Amin Forgenie also played a big role in my development,' he added.
At NCC, defending U17 champions Barbados take on Guyana while the Leeward Islands take on the Windward Islands at Gilbert Park, California. All matches bowl off from 9:30am.
TT U17 SQUAD: Justin Jagessar (captain), Luke Ali, Samir Saroop, Kavir Boodoosingh, Andrew Rambaran, Kyle Ramdoo, Orlando James, Veran Batchu, Abdullah Cambridge, Fareez Ali, Rikki Ragoonanan, Jacen Agard, Aaiden Racha, Kevin Kanhai; Rayad Emrit (coach), Rajendra Mangalie (manager)
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