On his second trip to the major international two-yearly tournament, Otago’s Josh Finnie will lead a 15-man New Zealand squad to next month's ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.
The team, that in past years has produced generation after generation of future BLACKCAPS, first heads to Dubai for a preparatory Tri-Series against Australia and Pakistan, before going on to Bangladesh for the stellar showcase of young global talent.
18-year-old Josh Clarkson has been an impact player for the Central Stags this season
Once in Bangladesh, the team has a pair of warm-up games against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan before playing their first round-robin match against Nepal on 28 January.
New Zealand's Under-19s will face the other two Pool D members, Australia and India, before either progressing to the quarterfinals of the main competition or entering the Plate competition. The overall final will be played on 14 February 2016.
Full schedule
The New Zealand Under-19s squad for 2015/16 was named in Lincoln
The squad was named at the conclusion of the National Under-19s tournament at New Zealand Cricket's high performance centre in Lincoln and is made up of five representatives from Auckland, three from Central Districts, two each from Otago, Wellington and Canterbury, and one from Northern Districts.
It caps an exciting few weeks for ND pace bowler Zak Gibson, who this season became the first recipient of the NZC Maori Cricket Scholarship, presented in conjunction with the 2015 Maori Sports Awards.
New Zealand Under-19s World Cup Squad
Josh Finnie – Otago (captain)
Finnley Allen – Auckland
Josh Clarkson – Central Districts
Zak Gibson – Northern Districts
Christian Leopard – Central Districts
Felix Murray – Central Districts
Aniket Parikh – Auckland
Dale Phillips – Auckland
Glenn Phillips – Auckland
Rachin Ravindra – Wellington
Talor Scott – Canterbury
Ben Sears – Wellington
Nathan Smith – Otago
Daniel Stanley – Canterbury
Ross ter Braak – Auckland
New Zealand Under-19 coach Bob Carter said the players have worked extremely hard in their preparations and all had warranted their place in the squad.
“It’s an extremely talented group of young players and we’ll head to Bangladesh with high expectations. These players are the future of our sport and they recognise the responsibility that comes with that.
“It’s an exciting opportunity, and we’re looking forward to it. There’s still plenty of work to go into our preparation, but we’ll be ready to go come 28 January.”
The team departs New Zealand for UAE on 6 January 2016. New Zealand Cricket congratulates all players on their selection.
