Limerick teen on stand-by for Irish squad for the U19 Cricket World Cup

LIMERICK'S William Shields has been selected in the Irish U19 squad for the upcoming Cricket World Cup in Namibia and Zimbabwe next month.

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Ahead of the tournament, the squad will complete an eight-day high-performance camp in Potchefstroom, South Africa, featuring two warm-up fixtures before departing for Namibia.

The Crescent College student is currently not due to travel with the squad as Shields was named as part of the non-travelling reserves but could be called upon should injury arise to a member of the travelling squad. 

The squad for next month's World Cup is as follows: 

Alex Armstrong (CIYMS), Callum Armstrong (Rush), Marko Bates (Muckamore), Sebastian Dijkstra (Merrion), Thomas Ford (CSNI), Samuel Haslett (Bonds Glen), Adam Leckey (CSNI), Febin Manoj (The Hills), Luke Murray (Pembroke), Robert O’Brien (Railway Union), Freddie Ogilby (Bready), Oliver Riley (Pembroke) (captain), James West (CSNI), Bruce Whaley (Railway Union), Reuben Wilson (Clontarf) (vice-captain)

Non-Travelling Reserves:
Peter le Roux (Railway Union), William Shields (Limerick)

In preparation for the World Cup Ireland will play the North West Colts on both January 5 and January 7.

Ireland will then play the West Indies U19 on January 10 before facing Tanzania on January 13.

Ireland's World Cup journey will then begin on January 16 when they face Australia in their opening group match followed by Sri Lanka on January 19 and Japan on January 22.

Head Coach Peter Johnston said:

"As we prepare for the Under-19s World Cup, we do so with real confidence and ambition. Ireland’s best-ever finishes — 10th in 2022 and 8th in 2024 — give this group belief and motivation.

"They show we can compete with the best teams in the world. The group is very well led by the experience of Pace duo Olly Riley (Captain) and Reuben Wilson (Vice Captain).

"I’m extremely proud of the effort and professionalism the squad has shown since September. They’ve worked through national training weekends, regional skills sessions, and a strong S&C programme.

"Stuart Thompson has driven big physical improvements across the group, reflected clearly in recent testing. December will be another busy month indoors as we build toward our New Year’s Eve departure.

"We’ve also had excellent support from our sport psych and nutrition team, helping the players develop in a rounded, high-performance environment.

"It’s also been great having senior internationals such as George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, and Lorcan Tucker involved as valuable mentors to this group.

"We have had three players competing and preparing in Australia this winter. Adam Leckey, Seb Dijkstra and Thomas Ford are in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide respectively and on top of their club commitments are part of established High Performance Programmes out there.

"A number of players that have been involved in the squad in recent months will be missing due to injury and academic commitments, including Gethin Kelleher, Daniel Murray and Ethan Marshal – but they remain exciting prospects within our pathway, and we fully expect them to return strongly.

"Our depth has certainly been tested, however, we saw evidence last season of fringe players coming into the team at different times and performing outstandingly well, so I would expect no different.

"We’ve also seen two exciting players stepping up from U15’s, both Callum Armstrong and Marco Bates have made big strides this winter."