U19 WC: Oz skipper Weibgen feels 'thrilled' to bring the World Cup home

Benoni, Feb 12 (IANS) Australia captain Hugh Weibgen said his team was ‘absolutely thrilled’ to have won the 2024 U19 Men’s World Cup and bring the trophy back home, after beating India by 79 runs in the title clash on Sunday.

After electing to bat at the Willowmoore Park, Australia made 253/7 with Harjas Singh (55) being the top scorer. They then bowled out India for 174 with Player of the Match Mahli Beardman (3-15) and Raf MacMillan (3-43) playing starring roles with the ball.

"We are absolutely thrilled to have won the final and to be bringing home the World Cup. We knew this was going to be a tough tournament given the standard of some of the teams and to go through undefeated says a lot about the talent we have in our squad and the excellence of our planning and preparation.

"t was great that everyone across the squad made a contribution to the victory including all the coaches and support staff and everyone involved can be really proud of what we have achieved," said Weibgen in a statement by Cricket Australia (CA).

It was Australia’s fourth U19 Men’s World Cup victory and the first since 2010 when current internationals Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood, Nic Maddinson, Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa were members of the squad winning the title in New Zealand.

The victory continues a stunning series of results by Australian teams in ICC events with the Meg Lanning-led women’s team winning the T20 World Cup in South Africa and the senior men’s team, captained by Pat Cummins, winning the World Test Championship and Men’s ODI World Cup last year in England and India respectively.

"Congratulations?to captain Hugh Weibgen and his team, the coaches and all the support staff in South Africa on winning Australia's fourth ICC Men's Under 19 World Cup. To go through the tournament undefeated and bring home the trophy for the first time in 15 years is a wonderful achievement and continues a period of remarkable success for Australian teams on the international stage.

"Ensuring our pathway programs are strong is a major priority for Australian Cricket and it is great to see Australia continues to produce so many accomplished young cricketers including those in this world champion team,” said Nick Hockley, CA CEO.