2018 U-19 World Cup: Instances when reigning champions were ousted in the first round

Reigning U19 World Champions West Indies have ended their group stage at the U19 World Cup by thumping Kenya by 222 runs. A brilliant century from Alick Athanaze and a five-wicket haul from spinner Bhaskar Yadram helped the Caribbeans to a win without breaking a sweat.

However, this win wasn’t enough for West Indies to cross the group stages as they had already been beaten in their first two games by hosts New Zealand and South Africa. They will now play against Ireland in the Plate League quarter-finals.

As a matter of fact, West Indies aren’t the only defending champions of the U19 World Cup who have failed to cross the first hurdle. There have been three previous instances in the competition’s 30-year old history when the defending champs were eliminated in the first round. Let’s take a look at them.

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South Africa in 2000

In their first appearance at the U19 World Cup in 1998, South Africa lifted the trophy on home soil. They were one of the favourites in the 2000 U19 World Cup in Sri Lanka and were pooled alongside Pakistan, Kenya and Nepal.

However, as with the 1992 World Cup semi-final, rain washed the Proteas away from the tournament. In their opening match against Nepal at Katunayake, South Africa scored 295/5 from their 50 overs thanks to a smashing 156 from Jacques Rudolph and a 74 from future skipper Graeme Smith.

The Nepal batting did not even stand a chance during the run chase as they were 24/4 after 12 overs. However, rain played spoilsport and the match was eventually called off. This deprived South Africa of a comprehensive and well-deserved victory.

Both of South Africa’s remaining group games against Pakistan and Kenya at Kurunegala were abandoned without any play and Nepal’s narrow win over Kenya got them through to the next round along with Pakistan.

South Africa then went on to play in the plate competition where they won all their group matches convincingly against Americas, Netherlands and Ireland. Cruelly, two of those matches were held at Kurunegala.

The Proteas went on to win both the plate semi-final and final against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh respectively to finish the tournament on a winning note. Graeme Smith ended the competition as the highest run-scorer with 348 runs at an average of 87.

Australia in 2004

Tim Paine's Australia were out in the first round of the 2004 U19 World Cup

Australia won their second U19 World Cup title in 2002 in New Zealand. Led by Tim Paine, Australia were considered one of the favourites to win the tournament in 2004 at Bangladesh as well. Their group consisted of Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Canada.

The Aussies began their tournament brilliantly by winning their opening match against Canada at Rajshahi by six wickets. However, they were thrashed by Zimbabwe in their next match at Bogra. Spells of 6/31 and 4/17 by future senior players Tinashe Panyangara and Elton Chigumbura bundled Australia out for a paltry 73. Zimbabwe comfortably chased down the total within 18 overs.

Australia managed to defeat Sri Lanka by 2 runs in their final group game but their net run-rate was too low to take them any further in the tournament. Hence, they had to play the plate league where they won all their group games convincingly. One win included a 10-wicket win over Scotland where the Scots were bundled out for 22- the lowest score in any format of U19 or senior cricket.

The Aussies won their plate semi-final against Ireland before being defeated by hosts Bangladesh at Fatullah by 8 runs.

South Africa in 2016

The Tony de Zorzi led South African side ended the 2016 U19 World Cup in 11th place

Before West Indies this year, South Africa attained the feat of getting knocked out in the group stage as the reigning U19 World Champs in the previous edition at Bangladesh. South Africa were in an extremely easy group with hosts Bangladesh, Namibia and Scotland.

The Proteas began with a 43-run defeat to Bangladesh at Chittagong. In their following game at Cox’s Bazar, South Africa were shocked by Namibia in a rather exciting game where Namibia chased down a meagre 137 with only two wickets to spare. This confirmed their elimination from the competition.

The Rainbow Nation salvaged some pride by thrashing Scotland in their final group game which was also held at Cox’s Bazar.

In the plate quarter-finals, South Africa defeated Ireland by 8 wickets at the same venue to qualify for the semi-finals where they were thrashed by Zimbabwe. A terrific spell of 4/10 by Richard Ngarava restricted the Proteas to just 91 which Zimbabwe chased down in 22 overs. This meant that South Africa would have to play the 11th place play-off against New Zealand at Cox’s Bazar yet again.

The Proteas thrashed the Kiwis by 138 runs to end the tournament in 11th place.