The U19 Cricket World Cup stars on January 22, and will be held in Bangladesh.
The Tournament started in 1988, and then after the first edition had a 10 year break, and then since 1998 has been once every 2 years.
India and Australia have won the trophy 3 times each, Pakistan have won it twice, while England and South Africa have both won it once.
This tournament has regularly been the breeding ground for the best young talent the game has to offer, and has featured players who would go on to become future superstars. Notable cricketing stars and legends to have played in the U-19 World Cup are -
1988 - Mustaq Ahmed, Mike Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Sanath Jayasuriya and Brian Lara
1998 - Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Graeme Swann, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Shoaib Malik
2000 - Graeme Smith, Yuvraj Singh, Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Brendon McCullum, Ian Bell, Tatenda Taibu, John Mooney (Irl)
2002 - Cameron White, Xavier Doherty, Tatenda Taibu, Hashim Amla, Umar Gul, Ross Taylor, Dwayne Bravo, Brendon Taylor, Kyle Coetzer (Sco)
2004 - Shikhar Dhawan, Alistair Cook, Suresh Raina, Eoin Morgan (played for Ireland and not England), Wahan Riaz, BJ Watling, Vernon Philander, William Porterfield (Irl), Angelo Matthews
2006 - Cheteshwar Pujara, Moises Henriques, Shakib Al Hasan, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, David Warner, Martin Guptill, Tim Southee, Moenn Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed
2008 - Wayne Parnell, Tim Southee, Virat Kohli, Philip Hughes, Steven Smith, Josh Hazelwood, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Corey Anderson, Dinesh Chandimal
2010 - Joe Root, Jos Butler, Ben Stokes, Quentin de Kock, Jason Holder, KL Rahul, Doug Bracewell
2012 - Reece Topley, Ashton Agar, Zardon (Afg)
2014 - Kagiso Rabada, Mustafizur Rehman
The No. of superstars that this tournament has thrown up is not to be ignored, and this tournament really is a showcase of the future superstars of the game. The Pedigree of the Class of 1988, 2000, and 2008 really stands out.
The next edition will feature 4 groups of 4 teams -
Group A: South Africa, Bangladesh, Scotland, Namibia
Group B: Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Canada
Group C: England, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Fiji
Group D: Australia, India, New Zealand, Nepal
The top two from each group qualify into what is known as the 'Super League' Pool, while the bottom 2 from each group shall qualify into the the 'Plate Pool'.
Both the Super League and Plate Pool, will then run simultaneously, but seperately.
The Eight Teams in the Super League, that is the top two teams from each group, pool will play their Quarter Finals, then Semis, and Finals. The Winner from the Super League Final will be the champion. The runner up will be placed 2nd, and there will be play off between the losing Semi Finalists to determine the 3rd/4th place teams. The four losing Super League quarter finalists will also have a playoff to determine the 5th-8th placed teams.
The Eight teams in Plate Pool, that is the bottom two teams will also play their quarters, then semis, and then the finals. The winner of the Plate Pool final will be the 9th ranked team, while the runner up of the Plate Pool will be ranked 10th. The Playoff between the losing Plate Pool Semi Finalists will determine the 11th and 12th rank sides. The losing Plate Pool Quarter Finalists will then face off, to determine positions 13th - 16th.
Thus each side will have plenty of games to play, and no side will be returning from the group stages itself. They will still have positions to play for, and each side will get a ranking.
The Tournament started in 1988, and then after the first edition had a 10 year break, and then since 1998 has been once every 2 years.
India and Australia have won the trophy 3 times each, Pakistan have won it twice, while England and South Africa have both won it once.
This tournament has regularly been the breeding ground for the best young talent the game has to offer, and has featured players who would go on to become future superstars. Notable cricketing stars and legends to have played in the U-19 World Cup are -
1988 - Mustaq Ahmed, Mike Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Sanath Jayasuriya and Brian Lara
1998 - Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Graeme Swann, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Shoaib Malik
2000 - Graeme Smith, Yuvraj Singh, Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Brendon McCullum, Ian Bell, Tatenda Taibu, John Mooney (Irl)
2002 - Cameron White, Xavier Doherty, Tatenda Taibu, Hashim Amla, Umar Gul, Ross Taylor, Dwayne Bravo, Brendon Taylor, Kyle Coetzer (Sco)
2004 - Shikhar Dhawan, Alistair Cook, Suresh Raina, Eoin Morgan (played for Ireland and not England), Wahan Riaz, BJ Watling, Vernon Philander, William Porterfield (Irl), Angelo Matthews
2006 - Cheteshwar Pujara, Moises Henriques, Shakib Al Hasan, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, David Warner, Martin Guptill, Tim Southee, Moenn Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed
2008 - Wayne Parnell, Tim Southee, Virat Kohli, Philip Hughes, Steven Smith, Josh Hazelwood, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Corey Anderson, Dinesh Chandimal
2010 - Joe Root, Jos Butler, Ben Stokes, Quentin de Kock, Jason Holder, KL Rahul, Doug Bracewell
2012 - Reece Topley, Ashton Agar, Zardon (Afg)
2014 - Kagiso Rabada, Mustafizur Rehman
The No. of superstars that this tournament has thrown up is not to be ignored, and this tournament really is a showcase of the future superstars of the game. The Pedigree of the Class of 1988, 2000, and 2008 really stands out.
The next edition will feature 4 groups of 4 teams -
Group A: South Africa, Bangladesh, Scotland, Namibia
Group B: Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Canada
Group C: England, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Fiji
Group D: Australia, India, New Zealand, Nepal
The top two from each group qualify into what is known as the 'Super League' Pool, while the bottom 2 from each group shall qualify into the the 'Plate Pool'.
Both the Super League and Plate Pool, will then run simultaneously, but seperately.
The Eight Teams in the Super League, that is the top two teams from each group, pool will play their Quarter Finals, then Semis, and Finals. The Winner from the Super League Final will be the champion. The runner up will be placed 2nd, and there will be play off between the losing Semi Finalists to determine the 3rd/4th place teams. The four losing Super League quarter finalists will also have a playoff to determine the 5th-8th placed teams.
The Eight teams in Plate Pool, that is the bottom two teams will also play their quarters, then semis, and then the finals. The winner of the Plate Pool final will be the 9th ranked team, while the runner up of the Plate Pool will be ranked 10th. The Playoff between the losing Plate Pool Semi Finalists will determine the 11th and 12th rank sides. The losing Plate Pool Quarter Finalists will then face off, to determine positions 13th - 16th.
Thus each side will have plenty of games to play, and no side will be returning from the group stages itself. They will still have positions to play for, and each side will get a ranking.
