ICC u19 Men’s Cricket World Cup draws closer 

The world’s rising cricket stars will take centre stage when the ICC u19 Men’s Cricket World Cup swings into action in Namibia and Zimbabwe over the next few days.

The tournament will be staged in Windhoek in Namibia, and in Harare and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, with both nations hosting two groups of four nations each.

Windhoek will host the defending champions Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland and Japan in Group C, as well as South Africa, West Indies, Afghanistan and Tanzania in Group D.

Group A consists of India, New Zealand, Bangladesh and the United States, with their matches taking place in Bulawayo and Harare, while Group B consists of England, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Scotland, who will compete in Harare.

The world cup officially gets underway on 15 January, but several warm-up matches will be held in both nations.

In Windhoek, preparations will commence at the Wanderers and United grounds, with the official venues, the FNB Namibia Cricket Ground and the High Performance Oval, only to be used once the tournament gets underway.

Tomorrow, the West Indies will take on Ireland at the Wanderers grounds, while Japan and Tanzania, which are both making their debut at the tournament, will clash at United.

Two blockbuster friendlies are lined up for Sunday, with Australia taking on Afghanistan at Wanderers, while South Africa take on Sri Lanka at United.

INDIA ODDS-ON FAVOURITES

Australia beat India by 79 runs in the 2024 final in Benoni, South Africa, after scoring 253/7 and then restricting India to 174/10, but they can expect tougher opposition from India this time round.

Olivier Peake, who will captain Australia, is the only remaining member of that squad, while new rising stars include batters Nitesh Samuel and Jayden Draper, and fast bowler Charles Lachmund.

India, led by the precociously talented Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, also have a brand new squad, and convincingly beat Australia 3-0 in a one-day international (ODI) series in Brisbane last year, with commanding victories of seven wickets, 51 runs, and 167 runs.

The big-hitting Sooryavanshi (14), has already broken a few world records, and is earmarked for greatness. He became the youngest player ever to debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the age of 13, while he became the youngest centurion in men’s T20 cricket when he scored 101 off 38 balls for the Rajasthan Royals against the Gujarat Titans, while his century, off only 35 balls, was the second fastest in IPL history.

India continued their impressive form with a 3-0 T20 series victory over South Africa in Benoni over the past week.

Sooryavanshi was the top batter, scoring 206 runs at an average of 68.66 and a highest score of 127, while Aaron George, HS Pangalia and Abhigyan Kundu also starred with the bat.

Jason Rowles was SA’s top batter with 149 runs at an average of 49.66 and a top score of 114, while pace bowler Kishan Singh was the top bowler with seven wickets, followed by South Africa’s Ntando Soni and JJ Basson with four wickets each.

Despite their defeat to India, South Africa have some fine players, including Jorich van Schalkwyk who scored 215 off 153 balls in a recent match against Zimbabwe; skipper and wicketkeeper Muhammad Bulbulia, pace bowlers Bajanda Majola and JJ Basson, all-rounder Rowles; and batters Adnaan Lagadien and Armaan Manack.

PAKISTAN IN FORM

Pakistan have also been in fine form after winning a tri-nations warm-up series against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in Harare over the past fortnight.

They won all their matches, beating Zimbabwe by nine wickets, and Afghanistan twice, by 133 runs and one wicket, while Sameer Minhas was the top batter with 360 runs at an average of 72, followed by compatriot Usman Khan with 227 runs at an average of 56.75.

Osman Sadat of Afghanistan was third with 130 runs at an average of 43.33, and compatriot Mahboob Khan fourth with 127 runs (42.33 average).

Zimbabwe finished second, after beating Afghanistan by 19 runs in their only encounter, while Michael Blignaut was their top batter with 64 runs at an average of 21.33.

Salam Khan of Afghanistan was the top bowler with 14 wickets, followed by Umar Zaib of Pakistan (9) and Panashe Mazai of Zimbabwe (6).

England will also be among the title contenders with rising stars like Thomas Rew, Ben Dawkins, Isaac Mohammed and Farhan Ahmed, while the West Indies also have a talented squad including the likes of Jewel Andrew, Joshua Dorne, Aadian Racha and Micah McKenzie.

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