Young West Indies player Vitel Lawes says the guidance of the team’s assistant coach helped to drag him from the depths of despair to the heights of being named to the International Cricket Council Under-19 World Cup 2026 team of the tournament.

Lawes, a talented left-arm wrist spinner, was the only West Indian to make the team of the tournament. He was a major bowling weapon as West Indies Under-19s made it to the Super Six phase of the World Cup, which was eventually won by India.

The Jamaican led the regional side’s bowling with 10 wickets at 22.70, followed by pacer Shaquan Belle (eight wickets at 24.87) and right-arm wrist spinner Micah McKenzie (seven wickets at 21.57).

Lawes, who turns 19 in March, credited his compatriot Nikita Miller — who, as an assistant coach, had specific oversight of the West Indies spin bowlers during the tournament — for his menacing form.

“It’s been a really great experience [working with Miller],” Lawes, who plays locally for St Catherine Cricket Club, told the Jamaica Observer.

He noted that in the build-up to the World Cup he had been mired in doubt when he had underwhelming returns in three matches against Sri Lanka last year.

Lawes said that after Miller’s inspirational intervention he was back to top form when he featured in six matches during a subsequent series against England in late 2025.

“He took me from a place of uncertainty — I was very demotivated at the time when we started working together. But he took me under his wings and motivated me and gave me confidence in my ability.

“He worked with me after the Sri Lanka series from which I only took one wicket, and going into the England series which I came out of as the leading wicket taker,” said the teenager.

Lawes, who attends St Jago High, and hails from Linstead, St Catherine, was competing in his first Under-19 World Cup.

He said the pitches he encountered during the World Cup in southern Africa — Namibia and Zimbabwe were joint hosts — significantly tested his qualities because they were more favourable to pace bowling.

“The pitches were more [helpful] to seam bowling than to spin bowling, so I had to put more revs on the ball and engage my wrists more. It was a bit of a challenge, but I was up to the task. I did expect to have an impact but not the impact that I did. The expectations were high from my coach, and my expectations are always high.

“I stayed disciplined and stuck to the basics as much as possible. I had a lot more revs on the ball that helped me to extract more out of the pitches. I have about six variations, but I just used the main three — the slider, the googly and the conventional leg break. I tried to keep it simple and not over complicate things,” Lawes explained.

“The pitches weren’t so conducive to spin bowling so I didn’t get as many wickets as I thought I should have got. But I think my performances were really good and I picked up wickets at crucial times to help the team. I gave 110 per cent every game,” he added.

Lawes said operating in tandem with spin-bowling partner McKenzie was very rewarding.

“We normally communicate information about the pitches and our coach would leave us to do our thing. He [McKenzie] created pressure at times that helped me to get some of the breakthroughs,” he noted.

— Sanjay Myers

Nikita Miller, West Indies Under-19 assistant coach. (Photo: CWI Media)

Vitel Lawes of West Indies bowls during the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Super Six match against Ireland at HP Oval in Windhoek, Namibia, on January 25, 2026. (Photo: ICC/Getty Images)