Nurse satisfied with U19s’ World Cup display despite Super Six exit

ST JOHN'S, Antigua (CMC):

While admitting that he was disappointed not to have made it further in the ongoing ICC Men's Under-19 World Cup in Africa, West Indies head coach Rohan Nurse said he is generally satisfied with the team's overall performance.

The Joshua Dorne-led side lost one match in the group stage to Afghanistan on their way to finishing second overall. They advanced to the Super Six phase where they defeated Ireland in their opening match, before a loss to defending champions Australia saw them eliminated from the tournament.

In an interview following the team's return to the Caribbean, Nurse said the team would have hoped to make it further in the competition.

"Ultimately there is a little tinge of disappointment knowing we would have had our stated goals, and we fell short in that regard. We probably struggled a little bit to find the consistency of performance you need in a tournament of such," he said.

However, Nurse said he was not disheartened by the team's overall performance.

"But be that as it may, we did see very good performances throughout the tournament individually, as well as a team, and we also discussed that we didn't play our best cricket based on what would have transpired leading up to the World Cup in the two previous series.

"But it was a very good opportunity, good exposure for the players, different environments, different conditions, and the nature of a World Cup is quite different to that of a series, and for them to have that understanding and exposure is really great for their future endeavours," Nurse pointed out.

"From that initial series against Sri Lanka to the end of the World Cup campaign we would have seen improvements in terms of their resilience, their ability to play together as a team, understanding the importance of their routines both on and off the field, especially in preparation for matches, and, over the period, we would have seen players start to emerge in terms of their performances and their understanding of the game.

"I think that come the end of the campaign, when we look back, I am certain we have identified some players who we can definitely say 'this guy is worth the investment of West Indies cricket going forward' and I'm quite happy with that," he added.