Wellington all-rounder Oscar Jackson will captain a 15-strong New Zealand squad at the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2024 in South Africa this January and February.
The touring party features three players, Mason Clarke (16), Tom Jones (17) and Snehith Reddy (17), who are young enough to be selected again for the next U19 World Cup in 2026, alongside some familiar family names to Kiwi cricket fans.
Otago spinning all-rounder Zac Cumming, the son of former BLACKCAP turned commentator and coach Craig, and brother of Otago Volts batter Jacob, has been selected.
Likewise, Central Districts seamer Matt Rowe is following in family footsteps as the cousin of WHITE FERNS pace-bowler Hannah Rowe, while Jones is the grandson of former New Zealand Test captain Jeremy Coney.
Rowe is one of four new faces in the side, joining the other 11 squad players who helped win the ICC East Asia Pacific qualifiers in Darwin in June to qualify for the 15th edition of the U19 World Cup.
Auckland opening-batsman James Nelson is another player who forced his way into the squad after leading the run-charts at last week’s NZC Under19 men’s national tournament at Lincoln, where he scored four centuries in six innings for the title-winning side.
All-rounder Cam Paul, who was in the squad that qualified in Darwin and had already featured for Canterbury in the Ford Trophy, was ruled out with a dislocated shoulder.
The remainder of the squad features four spin options, five seamers, including a seam-bowling all-rounder, and two wicket-keepers.
The 16 teams are broken into pools of four before the Super Six phase of the event ahead of the semi-finals and final in Benoni.
New Zealand is grouped with Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan with their opening match in East London on January 21.
The team will be coached by former Auckland player and current network coach Jonny Bassett-Graham, with assistance from Paul Wiseman and Graeme Aldridge.
Bassett-Graham hoped a really rewarding few months lay ahead of the players.
“Firstly, I’d like to congratulate the players selected for what will be a first ICC Cricket World Cup for the entire squad,” he said.
“It’s a hugely exciting time for them and their families and I know a lot of hard work and sacrifice has got them to where they are today.
“This tournament will be an awesome opportunity for our players to test themselves against the best in the world in their age group, and we hope it will be a great experience.
“You only have to look at the impressive list of players who have represented New Zealand at this tournament to understand it’s importance - from senior BLACKCAPS like Kane Williamson and Tim Southee through to rising stars like Rachin Ravindra and Adi Ashok.”
Bassett-Graham said the selectors were happy with the squad while acknowledging some hard decisions needed to be made.
“It’s always tough when you’ve got to leave quality players out as we have on this occasion,” he said.
“The loss of Cam Paul to a shoulder dislocation was a blow and also affected other selections as we tried to balance losing his genuine all-round ability.
“The batting order has good versatility and we’re confident we have the right bowling options for the different conditions we may face in South Africa.”
The squad departs for South Africa on January 11.
NZ Squad for ICC U19 Cricket World Cup
Oscar Jackson (c) - (bat) - WEL
Mason Clarke - (pace) - OTA
Sam Clode - ND - (wk)
Zac Cumming - (spin/bat) - OTA
Rahman Hekmat - (spin) - AKL
Tom Jones - (bat) - AKL
James Nelson - (bat) - AKL
Snehith Reddy - (bat/spin) - ND
Matt Rowe - (pace) - CD
Ewald Schreuder - (pace) - ND
Lachlan Stackpole - (bat) - AKL
Oliver Tewatiya - (bat/spin) - WEL
Alex Thompson - (wk) - WEL
Ryan Tsourgas - (pace) - WEL
Luke Watson - (bat) - AKL
*Rahman Hekmat was withdrawn from the squad following an injury during the U19 World Cup warm-up matches. Reserve squad member Robbie Foulkes joined the squad ahead of the first pool-play match.
NZ Reserves
Ben Breitmeyer - (pace) - CAN
Nick Brown - (wk) - OTA
Henry Christie - (bat) - WEL
Robbie Foulkes - (bat) - CAN
Josh Oliver - (pace/bat) - AKL
Amogh Paranjpe - (pace) - WEL
New Zealand U19 Fixtures
Sun Jan 21 – v Nepal, Buffalo Park, East London
Tues Jan 23 – v Afghanistan, Buffalo Park, East London
Sat Jan 27 – v Pakistan, Buffalo Park, East London
