Undoubtedly, the launching pad for the young cricketers, the ICC Under-19 World Cup over the years has witnessed many cricketers elevating to the next level with some exemplary performances.
However, for every successful transition, there were several stories of failures as well. Some exemplary performers in the Under-19 World Cups failed to live up to their expectations afterwards and saw their careers in doldrums.
Also, there has been the case of supply overweighing demand and that has hurt some promising young talents to prosper.
So we thought of going down the memory lane and finding out about the ones who became the highest wicket-takers in the 11 editions of the tournament so far. The highest wicket-taker of the 2016 edition was Fritz Coetzee for Namibia who took 15 wickets at an impressive average of 15.93 and earned praises for his immaculate line and length.
The young left-arm medium-fast bowler inspired Namibia to finish 7th in the 2016 edition of the Under-19 World Cup. But what about the other 10? What are they doing now? Let’s have a look:
1988 – Wayne Holdsworth and Mushtaq Ahmed
A genuine fast bowler, Holdsworth took 19 wickets to inspire the Aussies to win the inaugural edition of the Under-19 World Cup in their own backyard but failed to make his debut for the national team.
The New South Wales bowler, Holdsworth had his best season in 1992/93, when he claimed 53 first-class wickets to help New South Wales to victory in the Shield final against Queensland. This performance led to his inclusion in the 1993 Ashes touring squad, during which he claimed a hat-trick against Derbyshire but to add to his disappointment, he failed to make his debut for the national side.
Known to be a player of the golden generation of New South Wales cricket, Holdsworth is now into coaching and he is also the National Sales Manager of the FAL Healthy Beverages Pty Ltd.
Mushtaq Ahmed
The other person who also picked up 19 wickets to finish as the joint highest wicket-taker in the 1988 edition was Mushtaq Ahmed. The Pakistan leg-spinner later went on to play for Pakistan and recorded some incredible performances for them.
A genuine match-winner ‘Mushie’ played 52 Tests and 144 ODIs for Pakistan and picked up 185 and 161 wickets respectively. He was very successful for Sussex in the English county cricket and later he also became the spin-bowling coach of the England national team.
Since 2014, Mushtaq had been a part of the Pakistan coaching staff and team management in various capacities.
1998 – Ramnaresh Sarwan and Mluleki Nkala
The name of the highest wicket-taker of the 1998 edition might just surprise you all. The West Indies cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan finished the tournament as the joint highest wicket-taker along with Mluleki Nkala of Zimbabwe with 16 wickets each.
Sarwan, who later earned prominence at the senior level as a batsman, had an illustrious career for the Caribbean side. Sarwan played 87 Tests and 181 ODIs for West Indies and amassed over 10000 runs across all the formats.
The Guyana cricketer had a sound technique and his game was more suited for the longer versions of the game. Sarwan is part of the Trinbago Knight Riders squad for the Caribbean Premier League 2016.
Mluleki Nkala
Nkala played 10 Tests and 50 ODIs for the Zimbabwe national side and the right-arm medium pacer made headlines by taking the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar with his second ball in international cricket, in an ODI against India at Bulawayo in 1999, when he was just 18.
Nkala who worked as the Bowling Coach of the Zimbabwe Under-19 team and also as the Head Coach of Zimbabwe women’s team, now does his job for ANZ as a Financial Planning Consultant.
2000 – Zahid Saeed
The left-arm medium-fast bowler from Pakistan became the leading wicket-taker of the 2000 edition with 15 wickets at an outstanding average of 7.60.
There has never been a shortage of fast-bowlers in Pakistan and that might just have dashed his hopes of making his debut for the senior side.
Saeed toiled hard in First-Class cricket and he was once fined for ball tampering in Ramadan Cup in 2002. He played his last List A game in 2006.
2002 – Xavier Doherty and Waddington Mwayenga
The Australian left-arm spinner Doherty and the Zimbabwe right-arm medium pacer became the joint highest wicket-takers of the 2002 edition with 16 wickets each.
Doherty made his debut for the Senior Australia side in 2010 and has played 4 Tests, 60 ODIs and 11 T20Is for Australia. A steady, accurate and intelligent bowler, Doherty has been part of the domestic scene in Australia for more than a decade.
However, despite showing early promise, Doherty failed to make it big in the international cricket and he now plies his trade in the domestic cricket.
Waddington Mwayenga
Mwayenga played only a single Test and 3 ODIs for Zimbabwe and his performances were also not satisfactory. He played his debut Test against India and picked up the wicket of Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly which remained his only wicket in the longest format.
Mwayenga played his county cricket for Worcestershire 2nd XI and recently he moved to Australia to find new avenues.
2004 – Enamul Haque Jr.
The Bangladesh slow left-arm orthodox bowler picked up 22 wickets in the 2004 edition and later played for the senior team as well.
He played 15 Tests and 10 ODIs for the senior team before he ran out of favour. Enamul played a key role in Bangladesh’s inaugural Test victory over Zimbabwe as took 6 for 45 – and especially the historic final wicket - to send the country into a tizzy.
He achieved a rare feat of playing for Maharashtra in the 2008-09 Ranji Trophy season. He now plies his trade in the domestic cricket for Mohammedan and recently he picked up 3 wickets in a List A game against Fatullah FC.
2006 – Moises Henriques
The talented Australian all-rounder impressed everyone in the 2006 edition where he finished the tournament as the highest wicket-taker with 16 wickets.
But this promising bloke failed to make an impact for the senior team as he only managed to play 3 Tests, 6 ODIs, and 4 T20Is. Making his Test debut against India in 2013 in Chennai, Henriques picked up the wicket of Harbhajan Singh and scored 68 in the first innings.
The Portugal-born cricketer plays for New South Wales in the domestic circuit and he was part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad that won the Indian Premier League this year.
2008 – Wayne Parnell
The left-arm South African seamer picked up 18 wickets to become the highest wicket-taker of the 2008 edition which was won by India.
Parnell inspired his team to reach the final which they eventually lost to Virat Kohli’s India and later he made his debut for the senior side in 2009 in a T20 against Australia. He made his debut in the longest format of the game in 2010 against England and picked up 2 wickets.
His career has been marred by injuries and it was only after his recent string of good performances, Parnell was called to the national side to play in the ongoing Tri-Series featuring South Africa, Australia, and West Indies.
2010 – Raymond Haoda
The Papua New Guinea medium pacer finished as the highest wicket-taker in the 2010 edition with 15 wickets. Haoda bowled his heart out in the Qualifiers and also picked up a 5-wicket haul against Hong Kong.
He attended two ICC East Asia-Pacific training camps and also earned the scholarship with Marist Harewood Cricket Club in Christchurch in 2010.
An impressive bowler, Haoda played his last List A game in 2014.
2012 – Reece Topley
The English left-arm seam bowler Topley scalped 19 wickets at an impressive average of 9.10 to cap off the 2012 edition as the leading wicket-taker.
Topley made his debut for the senior side in 2015 and he was part of the England T20 squad that played in the ICC T20 World Cup 2016.
With a towering height of 6ft 7ins, Topley generates nice swing and he first made the headlines in 2009 when, as a 15-year-old net bowler, he got hit on his head by his favourite player Kevin Pietersen. The young star needed stitches but Pietersen left him a signed bat as a more welcome memento.
The 22-year-old is surely a bright prospect for the future.
2014 – Anuk Fernando
The left-arm medium fast bowler winded back the memories of Chaminda Vaas in the 2014 ICC Under 19 world cup when he picked up 15 wickets to become the tournament’s leading wicket-taker.
Fernando impressed with his line and length and he is no mug with the bat either. A decent all-rounder, Fernando hasn’t yet made his debut for the senior side and there is no doubt in the fact that he has the potential to don the national colours.
But before that, he has to drastically improve his First-Class performances to come into the reckoning.
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