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ICC U-19 World Cup History
The ICC (International Cricket Council) has officially released the schedule for the upcoming Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2020 which will be hosted by South Africa. India are the defending champions and have been placed alongside debuting team Japan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Group A. South Africa are in Group D for the tournament along with the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan and Canada. The tournament will have 16 teams competing with each other for the title honors, spanning 8 venues and 4 cities between the 17th of January and 9th of February, 2020.
The Under-19 Cricket World Cup was hosted in the year 1998 by South Africa and they also won the trophy in the year 2014. They will face Afghanistan in the tournament opener on the 17th of January, 2020 at the Diamond Oval. India won the last Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand and will start their tournament on the 19th of January, 2020 against Sri Lanka at Bloemfontein’s Mangaung Oval. New Zealand will face Japan on the 18th of January, 2020 at North West University Oval while Nigeria who are also debutants at the event, will be facing the runners-up in the last tournament, Australia, on the 20th of January, 2020, at Kimberley.
The top-11 full members from the last Under-19 World Cup will be playing in the tournament in addition to 5 regional champions, namely UAE (Asia), Nigeria (Africa), Canada (Americas), Japan (East Asia) and Scotland (Europe). The teams will be playing warm-up games between the 12th and 15th of January, 2020 prior to the main event. These matches will take place in Pretoria and Johannesburg.
ICC Under-19 World Cup 2020 Teams
Group Details:
- Group A: India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Japan
- Group B: Australia, West Indies, England, Nigeria
- Group C: Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Scotland
- Group D: South Africa, Afghanistan, UAE, Canada
Also Read: ICC Under 19 World Cup 2020 Teams
ICC Under-19 World Cup 2020 Schedule-
Dates, Match Timings & Venues
South Africa vs Afghanistan
De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley – January 17, 1:30 pm (IST)
Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe
JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom – January 18, 1:30 pm
New Zealand vs Japan
Absa Puk Oval, Potchefstroom – January 18, 1:30 pm
UAE vs Canada
Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein – January 18, 1:30 pm
Australia vs West Indies
De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley – January 18, 1:30 pm
Pakistan vs Scotland
Absa Puk Oval, Potchefstroom – January 19, 1:30 pm
India vs Sri Lanka
Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein – January 19, 1:30 pm
England vs West Indies
De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley – January 20, 1:30 pm
Australia vs Nigeria
Country Club B Field, Kimberley – January 20, 1:30 pm
Bangladesh vs Scotland
Witrand Oval, Potchefstroom – January 21, 1:30 pm
India vs Japan
Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein – January 21, 1:30 pm
South Africa vs Canada
JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom – January 22, 1:30 pm
Afghanistan vs UAE
Absa Puk Oval, Potchefstroom – January 22, 1:30 pm
Pakistan vs Zimbabwe
Witrand Oval, Potchefstroom – January 22, 1:30 pm
New Zealand vs Sri Lanka
Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein – January 22, 1:30 pm
Australia vs England
De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley – January 23, 1:30 pm
West Indies vs Nigeria
Country Club B Field, Kimberley – January 23, 1:30 pm
Pakistan vs Bangladesh
JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom – January 24, 1:30 pm
Afghanistan vs Canada
Ibbies Oval, Potchefstroom – January 24, 1:30 pm
India vs New Zealand
Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein – January 24, 1:30 pm
Sri Lanka vs Japan
Absa Puk Oval, Potchefstroom – January 25, 1:30 pm
Zimbabwe vs Scotland
Witrand Oval, Potchefstroom – January 25, 1:30 pm
South Africa vs UAE
Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein – January 25, 1:30 pm
England vs Nigeria
De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley – January 25, 1:30 pm
ICC U19 World Cup 2020 Quarter-finals Schedule:
Quarter Final 1- India vs Australia
JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom – January 28, 1:30 pm
Quarter Final 2 – West Indies vs New Zealand
Willowmoore Park, Benoni – January 29, 1:30 pm
Quarter Final 3 – Bangladesh vs South Africa
JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom – January 30, 1:30 pm
Quarter Final 4 – Afghanistan vs Pakistan
Willowmoore Park, Benoni – January 31, 1:30 pm
Semi Final 1 – TBD
JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom – February 04, 1:30 pm
Semi Final 2- TBD
JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom – February 06, 1:30 pm
Final- TBD
JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom – February 10, 1:30 pm
Important Note: * All the matches are scheduled to start at 8:00 am GMT/ 10 am Local/ 1:30 pm IST.
ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup Information:
The JB Marks Oval at Potchefstroom is a major venue for the tournament since it will be hosting the two quarterfinals in the Super League along with the two semi-finals and final. The Head of Events at the ICC, Chris Tetley has already stated that the Under-19 World Cup is a major event in the global cricketing calendar since it will bring some of the most talented young cricketers from the world on one platform. He talked of how free entry would be provided to cricketing enthusiasts in South Africa for the tournament. The Director of the Tournament is Sivuyile Mqingwana.
The U-19 World Cup has previously witnessed some of the world’s best cricketers come to prominence including Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and Joe Root among others. South Africa has had several senior players blossoming at this tournament including Quinton de Kock, Graeme Smith, Wayne Parnell, Hashim Amla, Dean Elgar and Kagiso Rabada among others. Some other legendary players to have played this tournament include Brian Lara, Michael Clarke, Michael Atherton, Virender Sehwag, Rashid Khan and Inzamam-ul-Haq.
India are 4-time title winners while Australia have won the Under-19 Cricket World Cup three times. Pakistan has won the title twice while South Africa, England and West Indies are all one-time winners.