2018 U-19 World Cup: Tournament preview, rules, venues and past winners

The 12th edition of the Under 19 Cricket World Cup will commence from January 13, 2018, in New Zealand. New Zealand, in the process, will become the first country to host the Under 19 World Cup thrice.

The current edition of the World Cup will see 16 nations battling it out for the trophy. After 48 matches, the cricketing world will have its new under 19 Champion.

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The Teams

16 teams will be split into four groups with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the Super League quarter-finals while the bottom two will battle it out in the Plate League quarter-finals.

Group A will have New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa and Kenya.

Group B consists of Australia, India, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea

Group C will have England, Bangladesh, Canada and Namibia.

Group D consists of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Ireland.

The Format and the Schedule

Defending champions West Indies will look to defend their crown in the 2018 U19 World Cup

Each team will play the remaining three teams in the group once and the top 2 teams will qualify for the Super League quarter-finals. The bottom two teams will battle it out in the Plate Division quarter-finals.

After the Plate Division quarters and Super League quarters, the winners of the respective matches will battle it out in the semi-finals and then eventually in the finals. Thus, the Under 19 World Cup will see two winners, i.e. 1 in the Super League and one in the Plate Division.

The group matches will commence from 13th February 2018.

13th January 2018:

Pakistan U 19 Vs Afghanistan U 19 (Group D)

Zimbabwe U 19 Vs Papua New Guinea U 19 (Group B)

Bangladesh U 19 Vs Namibia U 19 (Group C)

New Zealand U 19 Vs West Indies U 19 (Group A)

14th January 2018:

Sri Lanka U 19 Vs Ireland U 19 (Group D)

South Africa U 19 Vs Kenya U 19 (Group A)

India U 19 Vs Australia U 19 (Group B)

India Vs Ireland (Group D)

15th January, 2018:

Bangladesh U 19 Vs Canada U 19 (Group C)

England U 19 Vs Namibia U 19 (Group C)

16th January, 2018:

Pakistan U 19 Vs Ireland U 19 (Group D)

India U 19 Vs Papua New Guinea (Group B)

17th January, 2018:

Sri Lanka U 19 Vs Afghanistan U 19 (Group D)

Zimbabwe U 19 Vs Australia U 19 (Group B)

New Zealand U 19 Vs Kenya U 10 (Group A)

West Indies A Vs South Africa A (Group A)

18th January 2018:

Namibia U 19 Vs Canada U 19 (Group C)

England U 19 Vs Bangladesh U 19 (Group C)

19th January 2018:

Sri Lanka U 19 Vs Pakistan U 19 (Group D)

India U 19 Vs Zimbabwe U 19 (Group B)

Australia U 19 Vs Papua New Guinea (Group B)

20th January 2018:

Afghanistan U 19 Vs Ireland U 19 (Group D)

West Indies U 19 Vs Kenya U 19 (Group A)

England U 19 Vs Canada U 19 (Group C)

New Zealand U 19 Vs South Africa U 19 (Group A)

22nd January 2018:

Plate Quarter-Final 1

Plate Quarter-Final 2

23rd January 2018:

Super League Quarter-Final 1

Plate Quarter-Final 3

Plate Quarter-Final 4

24th January 2018:

Super League Quarter-Final 2

25th January 2018:

Super League Quarter-Final 3

Plate playoff Semi-Final 1

Plate playoff Semi-Final 2

Plate Semi-Final 1

26th January 2018

Super League Quarter-Final 4

Plate Semi-Final 2

27th January 2018:

Plate Quarter Finals

Super League Playoff Semi-Final 1

13th Place Playoff

15th Place Playoff

28th January 2018:

Super League Playoff Semi-Final 2

11th Place Playoff

Plate Final

29th January 2018

Super League Semi Final 1

30th January 2018:

7th Place Play Off

Super League Semi Final 2

31st January 2018:

5th Place Playoff

1st February 2018:

3rd Place Playoff

3rd February 2018:

Final

The Venues

Bay Oval will host the World Cup final

Seven venues namely Hagley Oval, Rangiora Oval, Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln No.3, Cobham Oval, John Davies Oval and Bay Oval will host the 48 matches in this edition of the U19 World Cup. The Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui will host the final on 3rd February 2018.

The History

Virat Kohli led India to victory in the U19 World Cup in 2008

The Under 19 World Cup is in its 12th edition and will be a perfect platform for youngsters to showcase their talent on the big stage. Numerous cricketers have risen and made it to their respective national teams on the basis of their performances in the Under 19 World Cup.

Nasser Hussain, Inzamam Ul Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Brian Lara, Chris Cairns etc. who participated in the inaugural edition of the Under 19 World Cup are now considered legends of the game.

The 1998 edition saw the rise of two West Indians who played a vital role in the West Indies team in the next decade i.e. Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan.

The 2000 edition saw the emergence of Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Graeme Smith and Shane Watson who have played many match-winning innings for their respective countries.

The 2002 edition also produced many exciting cricketers like Hashim Amla, Tatenda Taibu, Shaun Marsh. George Bailey and Cameron White.

Shikhar Dhawan, R.P. Singh, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik. Alastair Cook, Tim Bresnan, Denesh Ramdin were the stars of the 2004 edition of the Under 19 World Cup and represented their national side soon after.

The 2006 edition was a perfect platform for Cheteshwar Pujara, Tim Southee and Eoin Morgan to showcase their talent on the big stage.

Virat Kohli, who led India to the 2008 U19 World Cup win, is not the only player who benefited from this edition. Others like Ravindra Jadeja, Darren Bravo, Wayne Parnell, Trent Boult, Ahmed Shehzad, Corey Anderson, have tasted success at the international level.

Quinton de Kock was the star of the 2012 edition.

The 2014 edition saw the emergence of Kuldeep Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Kusal Mendis and Mustafizur Rehman who have made it to the big stage.

Since its inception in 1988, the tournament has seen various champions:

1. 1988 - Australia

2. 1998 - England

3. 2000 - India

4 2002 - Australia

5. 2004 - Pakistan

6. 2006 - Pakistan

7. 2008 - India

8. 2010 - Australia

9. 2012 - India

10. 2014 - South Africa

11. 2016 - West Indies

India and Australia have won the tournament on three occasions with Pakistan winning twice and England, South Africa and West Indies winning one each.

The 2018 edition of the Under 19 World Cup promises to be an exciting one and will see the introduction of many talented cricketers on the field for the first time.