U19 World Cup 2022: ICC announces schedule of the tournament

The West Indies will host the ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2022, it has been confirmed. The tournament, which will feature 16 countries in 48 matches, is to be held in the Caribbean for the first time in its 14-edition history and will run from 14 January to 5 February.

The Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup has developed a reputation as an event that not only offers excellent competition and entertainment, but also showcases future stars of the game.

Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Joe Root, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Shimron Hetmyer are among the famous names to have competed in recent editions of the tournament, and the next generation of world-class talent will be on show across the West Indies in 2022.

“The ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup is such an exciting and special tournament, bringing together the future stars of the game and giving them an unrivalled experience of competing on the global stage,” said ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley. “We are looking forward to the 2022 edition to see who emerges as the future stars.

“We are delighted that the West Indies will be hosting this event and we wish all the teams the very best in their preparations for the tournament and to Cricket West Indies in organising the event.” The tournament will utilise ten venues in four Caribbean countries – Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago.

But New Zealand will not be present, with the team having to withdraw due to the mandatory quarantine restrictions for minors that they would have faced on their return journey from the tournament. Scotland replace the Black Caps in the tournament. The Scots join Australia, Sri Lanka and West Indies in Group D, with the hosts hoping to repeat their title success from 2016.

Bangladesh are the current defending champions, having beaten India in a low-scoring thriller in the final of the 2020 edition of the U19 World Cup.

They will up against England, Canada and the United Arab Emirates in Group A. India, Ireland South Africa and Uganda make up Group B. And Afghanistan, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe are in Group C.

The semi-finals and final will all be held at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua and Barbuda.

“CWI is looking forward to hosting this important global U19 cricket event, which is just around the corner, in January,” Cricket West Indies President Ricky Skerritt said in a statement. “In partnership with host territorial boards, cricket clubs, and Ministries of Sports, we have been hard at work preparing for this event over the past several months. However, amid so many Covid-related challenges, it has not been easy to finalise the venues and to work out all the related logistics.

“At the same time, our U19 head coach, Floyd Reifer, and his coaching staff have been busy preparing our team for competition, using innovative methods to keep them active even while they were restricted from travel. West Indies has a proud under-19 cricket history, with several bright talents blossoming into international stars over the years. We, therefore, expect our current team of under-19 players to do us proud in the 2022 tournament.

“I am also confident that our visitors will experience the best of our world-famous Caribbean culture and hospitality in Antigua & Barbuda, Guyana, St. Kitts & Nevis, and Trinidad & Tobago.”

Here are the groupings:

Group A – Bangladesh, England, Canada, United Arab Emirates

Group B – India, Ireland, South Africa, Uganda

Group C – Afghanistan, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe

Group D – Australia, Scotland, Sri Lanka, West Indies

Venues

St Kitts and Nevis – Warner Park, Conaree, (Sandy Point – Warm-up match venue only)

Guyana – Guyana National Stadium, (Everest – Warm-up match venue only)

Trinidad and Tobago – Brian Lara Cricket Ground, Queens Park Oval, Diego Martin

Antigua and Barbuda – Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Coolidge Cricket Ground

Schedule