In a surprisingly one-sided semi-final match against England at Dhaka the West Indies Under 19's cruised through to the World Youth Cup Final where they will meet co-finalists, Pakistan on Friday.

West Indies captain, Denish Ramdin, won the toss, chose to bat first and then top-scored with a measured 72 from 85 balls. He was joined in an 87 run partnership for the sixth wicket by Zamal Khan, who created a blockbuster finish by hammering a fine 60 not out of just 49 deliveries. These two played a major part in transforming what had been a rocky West Indies innings at one point, and on a pitch where 230 was considered a good total, rallied from 146 for 5 in the 36th over to a final total of 249 for 6.
Chasing a very challenging target of 250 to win under the floodlights of the Bangabandhu Stadium, England capitulated after a slow start and ultimately contributed to their own demise with no fewer than four of their batsmen being sent back to the pavilion via the run-out route.
When the English youths started their reply they were put in check by Windies paceman Ravi Rampaul, who made the recent tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa with the West Indies senior team, and who took the first wicket when he had Ravi Bopara caught at mid-on off a mistimed hook. This was soon to become 45 for 2 in the 15th over when Simmons had Simon Davies(4) smartly stumped by Ramdin. Luke Wright (3) departed 12 runs later, brilliantly caught by Marshall in the gully off Simmons at 57 for 3, as England fell out of contention and lost their last eight wickets for 98 runs.
The West Indian bowlers and alert fieldsmen were in dominant mood throughout the English innings with Ravi Rampaul finishing with 3 wickets for 27 runs off 7.1 overs. The four run-outs obviously completely demoralised the Englishmen who slumped to a fairly miserable total of 155 all out, the West Indies winning by a very comfortable 94 runs.
Winning coach, Clyde Butts, told CMC Sports that "The key to the success today was the team spirit, we played some really good cricket and everybody was really focused."
Friday's final will offer the West Indies the opportunity to avenge their huge 163 run defeat in the first round when they were without Rampaul who had been struck down with a severe stomach ailment. Captain, Ramdin, is anxious for a re-match with the Pakistanis, who had themselves lost to England by 5 runs in the Super League matches.
"After this game, the guys are confident and looking forward to it", Ramdin said.
It should be remembered that last year the West Indies Under 19 youths reached the semi-final of the tournament and the Under 15's won their World Cup just a few years ago. This indicates what many of us believe - namely that there is no shortage of natural raw talent in the West Indies - but that we have not yet been able to hit on the right formula for developing that talent into a disciplined and successful side at the senior level.

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