After the overwhelming success of hosting the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Tournament Director Brendan Bourke wants the U19 CWC to be another tournament New Zealand can be proud of.
“While this is not the Cricket World Cup, we are aiming to deliver it to that same level where we can – match delivery, training facilities, transport, accommodation and so on."
“New Zealanders are now well known to many international sporting bodies and have a reputation of delivering outstanding major events. Operational excellence is something we should be very proud of, and it’s something that we will again be striving to succeed in achieving.”
Venues play a leading role at any sporting event and by the end of February, Bourke wants the grounds hosting the U19 CWC to be finalized.
“The tournament will host 48 games across eight match venues throughout New Zealand. The 16 warm up matches will also be played at an additional six match venues, all located within one of our major host cities, enabling all teams to settle into the local conditions before the tournament begins."
As tournament staff prepare the operations of the event, the teams that will be competing are either preparing for the competition, or are readying themselves for qualifiers.
“The 10 test playing nations automatically qualify for the tournament, plus the highest finishing non-test playing nation from the previous tournament – in this case Namibia. They will be joined by the winner of qualifying tournaments in each of ICC’s global regions, being Africa, Americas, Asia, East Asia-Pacific and Europe, so there will be a good mix of cultures immersing themselves in New Zealand this time next year.”
There is a very long list of world class cricketers that first made a name for themselves at U19 level.
“These are the Future Stars of cricket, and looking back at the previous ICC U19 Cricket World Cups, many players have gone on to bigger and better things – Stephen Fleming, Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, and further afield Brian Lara, Michael Clarke, Alastair Cook, Virat Kohli. We’ll wait with anticipation to see who the next superstar of world cricket is that kicked off their career at the ICC U19 CWC.”
The majority of players competing at next year’s tournament will be debuting in the international environment.
“For a lot of the players participating in the tournament, it may be their first time overseas, their first time playing international cricket, and even their first time playing a day night fixture, so it’s going to be a real eye-opener for a lot of young players, and we want to really turn it on for them.”
