ICC U19 World Cup – The Breeding Ground of Prominent Players

The ICC U19 World Cup has been the perfect place for the youngsters of all cricket playing nations to showcase their talents in front of the global crowd. Not many players get the opportunity of displaying their talent at a young age; the ones who do, often end up featuring in this prestigious global mega event. Although many young guns participate in the ICC U19 World Cup, only a few make the headlines and make it even big in their careers and end up becoming legends of the game. Here is a walk down the memory lane as we see the prominent stars being born out of this tournament’s history:

ICC U19 World Cup 1988 – Brian Lara (WI) and Michael Atherton (Eng)

The Youth Cricket World Cup, as it was popularly known then, was the inaugural edition of the ICC U19 World Cup played in 1988 in Australia. The biggest stars that emerged out of the tournament that was won by Australia were Brian Lara and Michael Atherton. Brian Lara led the West Indies team in the tournament and scored heavily with 222 runs under his belt with a top score of 64. The Windies crashed out in the Semis, but West Indies got their hero. Lara then went on to become one of the greatest of the games. Mike Atherton was in the skipper of the England team and his team too, made it to the semis. He was phenomenal with his captaincy and he later went on to captain the England national team as well, for a record 54 Test matches.