ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — Finalising roles and enhancing situation awareness will be high on the agenda for West Indies Under-19s Head Coach Floyd Reifer when his side face South Africa Under-19s in a four-match series bowling off in St Vincent and the Grenadines on Boxing Day.

The series, comprising 50-over matches, will be played at the Arnos Vale Stadium and Cumberland Playing Field with fixtures also on December 28, December 30 and January 3.

And Reifer said the tour would be critical in helping the Rising Stars put the finishing touches on their preparation for next month’s start of the International Cricket Council Under-19 World Cup in the Caribbean.

“It’s great for us to have these matches as part of the build-up to the World Cup,” Reifer said.

“We are really looking forward to this series against South Africa, as we are at the stage where it is important for the squad to play together, to see players in various roles, see how they respond to situations and how well they execute the plans we put in place.”

West Indies Under-19s have spent the last six months in intense preparation for the January 14 to February 5 ICC Under-19 World Cup carded for Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis, and Guyana.

Cricket West Indies staged a competitive internal tournament for the players here in the summer, before the squad travelled to England in September for a six-match series against the hosts which they lost 4-2.

Reifer, who has overseen the squad’s selection and development over the last year, said the series against the Young Proteas would also assist with unity and creating an all-important “team culture”.

“It is for us to also make sure we get the team going well together and have synergy, so the players fully understand each other,” he explained.

“This is very crucial for us as we look to build the team energy and the team culture. I can’t stress enough how vital these matches are, and we will be taking them very seriously.

“We want to thank the Government and Cricket Association of St Vincent and the Grenadines for working with our operations and medical teams over the past week to put things in place for us to get some much-needed playing time in the middle and preparations.”

South Africa Under-19s were scheduled to arrive in Barbados yesterday and travel by charter to Kingstown to begin their preparations for the series.

West Indies Under-19s and South Africa Under-19s are two of 16 teams which will play 48 matches in the upcoming ICC World Cup.

The hosts will do battle in Group D alongside Australia and Sri Lanka and Scotland.