vAustralia announce U19 Cricket WC squad, captain yet to be named

Melbourne, Dec 11 (IANS) Cricket Australia (CA) on Monday unveiled the squad set to participate in the upcoming ICC U19 Men’s World Cup in South Africa next month. The team's captain, however, has not yet been announced.

The Youth Selection Panel (YSP) picked a 15-player squad following the conclusion of the 2023 Under 19 Male National Championships in Albury last week. The squad features a strong contingent of players who featured in the dual U19 Ashes series’ this year.

The Australian squad will be coached by Anthony Clark, who has also led the Under 19 team on recent tours of England and Sri Lanka.

Sam Konstas emerged as a standout player in the squad with a timely performance, securing the title for NSW Metro by scoring an unbeaten 63 against Queensland in the Under 19 National Championships final.

Aiden O'Connor also earned a spot on the back of his consistent week in the Nationals. Harry Dixon, who has already plundered Test and ODI centuries for Australia at U19 level, has also been selected after hitting 222 runs at the championships.

Allrounder Hugh Weibgen, who was ruled out of the U19 National Championships with a back injury has also been selected after leading the side in England earlier this year.

Sonya Thompson, Cricket Australia’s Head of National Development, said: "It’s been exciting to see the amount of talent on display at this year’s Under 19 Male National Championships. We’ve seen some fantastic individual performances. The upcoming Under 19 World Cup provides players with an excellent development opportunity, and we look forward to watching this squad perform on the world stage.

"The National Youth Selection Panel worked closely with State Talent Managers to select the World Cup Squad. Consideration is given to performances across a variety of competitions. Many of those in the World Cup squad also had development opportunities during tours to Sri Lanka and England this year.

"Inevitably, there were difficult selection decisions, but we will continue to support and monitor the development of all players in our pathway systems."

January's World Cup will be held in South Africa after the ICC Board confirmed Sri Lanka would be replaced as hosts last month.

The upcoming U19 World Cup is the 15th edition men's event and will have a revised tournament format, which includes a new Super Six stage after the Group stage to determine the semifinalists.

The 16 participating teams have been divided into four groups of four with the scheduled start being in January. There will be 41 matches with the final to be played in February.

Australia will face Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Namibia in the group stage with the ICC set to announce updated fixture dates and times in the coming days.

Australia Under 19 World Cup squad: Lachlan Aitken, Charlie Anderson, Harkirat Bajwa, Mahli Beardman, Tom Campbell, Harry Dixon, Ryan Hicks, Sam Konstas, Rafael MacMillan, Aidan O’Connor, Harjas Singh, Tom Straker, Callum Vidler, Corey Wasley, Hugh Weibgen