‘Top order let us down’ says Windies U-19 Skipper

Feb 09, 2022 Sports

Nandu’s ton as Captain was highlight of W/Cup

By Sean Devers
Kaieteur News -It was a disappointing performance for the 2016 U-19 World Cup champions who suffered losses to Australia and Sri Lanka, while beating Scotland in the main draw as they failed reach the super 8 segment of the 2022 U-19 World Cup hosted by West Indies.
West Indies, led by 128 from Matthew Nandu, beat PNG in the Plate Quarter-finals before Teddy Bishop (112 *) and Kevin Wickham (104) spearhead the home to an 8-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the 11th place play-off game.

Nandu during his fifty against South Africa in the U-19 World Cup warm-up game.

The tournament was won by India who captured their fifth title since the inaugural event was staged in Australia in 1988.
The South African pair Dewald Brevis (506 runs with 2 tons and 3 fifties) and Dunith Nethumika (17 wkts) headed the list in both the batting and bowling.
Kevin Wickham (243 runs with a century and two fifties) was the leading run-scorer for West Indies, while Teddy Bishop (206 runs) and Guyanese Matthew Nandu (150 runs) were the batsmen with centuries for the host. However, all three tons were scored in the Plate division.
Shiva Sankar (9) was the leading wicket-taker for West Indies, while Nandu and McKenny Clarke captured six wickets each.
The other Guyanese in the side pacer Isaiah Throne had four wickets
After the first rounds Skipper Akeem Auguste, who made 57 in his lone innings, contracted the covid-19 Virus and Nandu took over the captaincy of the side.
“It was an amazing experience to lead the West Indies U19 team, and one that I will never forget. It was definitely one of the highlights of the tournament for me,” said the 18-year-old batting all-rounder who was born in Canada to Guyanese parents.
His dad, Arjune Nandu played three First-Class Matches between 1988 and 1992, two youth Test against Young Australia in 1990 after representing Guyana at Regional level from 1988-1991.
“The biggest disappointment for me was not being a part of the Super 8. Not being able to go further in the tournament at home was very unfortunate.
Personally, I was not consistent throughout the tournament, which was very hard to overcome. I would have liked to have some bigger scores, but it didn’t go as planned,” said Nandu, whose

Matthew’s dad former Guyana leggie Arjune Nandu at Providence to watch his son.

century was scored against PNG in the Plate Quarter-finals.
“It felt amazing to get a World Cup century… and to score a 100 while being captain means so much more to me. Teddy Bishop and Kevin Wickham also scored centuries in the U-19 World Cup against Zimbabwe,” informed the left handed batsman who bowls off-spin.
“Unfortunately, our top order didn’t execute as we would have liked to. Things just didn’t go our way,” lamented Nandu who was picked in the Chris Gayle led Vancouver Knights in the second edition of the Global T20 in Canada.
Wickham replaced Auguste after the first two rounds and finished with 243 runs from four matches with a century (104) and two fifties at an Average 81.
Bishop scored 206 from six games with a highest score an unbeaten 112, while Nandu, who began with 57 against South Africa in the warm-up game, was the only other West Indian to reach 150 runs with a highest score of 128. But his five other innings produced just 23 runs as he averaged 25. 16.
Auguste scored 57 in his lone innings and was badly missed in the top order as opener Shaqkere Parris made only 117 runs, while Jordon Johnson made 68 runs from four matches, despite one innings producing 47.
Nandu played for Guyana at U-17 level in 2019 but was robbed of the opportunity to represent Guyana at U-19 level due to outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He disclosed that as an individual he has taken away many positives for this World Cup.
“I learned to keep the momentum going and continuing to push through the difficult times. Also how to deal with failures and pressure that occurred throughout the tournament,” informed Nandu, who took over the Captaincy from the third round of the tournament.
Nandu, who is currently studying psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada, attended his classes on-line during the World Cup tournament.
“My aspirations are to finish my university degree, and continue working hard towards my cricketing career, so that I can be selected in the Guyana team and West Indies senior teams. Playing cricket at the highest level will continue to be my main goal,” concluded Nandu who has scored a century and two fifties and has taken 12 wickets in his 15 games for West Indies U-19s since making his debut last year.