New Zealand announce 15-member squad for U19 Cricket World Cup

New Zealand Cricket in the build-up to the exciting and upcoming ICC mega event in the form of the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup have announced their 15-member strong squad. The talented all-rounder Oscar Jackson will don the Captain's mantle. Notably, the much-awaited mega tournament begins on January 19, in South Africa.

Speaking of the squad, 11 members who have been familiar faces have been retained for the global event. Interestingly enough, out of the rest four members, three selections have a family history of cricket in some way or the other. Tom Jones is the grandson of the former New Zealand skipper Jeremy Coney. While Zac Cumming is the son of the renowned commentator and former Kiwi player and coach Craig Cummins. Besides, another member Matt Rowe also has family roots as he is the cousin of the talented Women pacer, Hannah Rowe.

Now speaking about the journey of the Kiwi U19 team, they qualified after clinching the ICC East Asia Pacific qualifiers in June. Regarding the U19 World Cup, 16 teams have been divided into four pools. Thereafter, the Super Six phase will be played and then the knockouts in the form of semifinals and final will be played in Benoni. The Blackcaps have been grouped with Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan, respectively. New Zealand will begin their World Cup campaign on January 21 in East London.

You only have to look at the impressive list of players who have represented New Zealand at this tournament: NZ U19 Coach

Ahead of departing for the ICC Under 19 World Cup 2024, New Zealand U19's coach Jonny Bassett-Graham reflected on the importance of the global event. He name-dropped senior legends of the country like skipper of national team Kane Williamson along with Southee and some other rising stars like Rachin Ravindra, who have represented the country at the Under-19 level before becoming international sensations. Hence Bassett-Graham believes this World Cup will be of utmost importance for the young budding cricketers of New Zealand.

"This tournament will be an awesome opportunity for our players to test themselves against the best in the world in their age group, and we hope it will be a great experience. You only have to look at the impressive list of players who have represented New Zealand at this tournament to understand its importance - from senior Blackcaps like Kane Williamson and Tim Southee through to rising stars like Rachin Ravindra and Adi Ashok," Jonny Bassett-Graham, who is the Under-19 coach was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.