The country’s best young cricketers will be battling for both provincial honours and international recognition at the National Under-19 tournament in Auckland this week.
The six Major Association teams will be playing for the national title, with Auckland looking to extend their run of success after two titles in a row, and taking out four of the last five titles.
And with the New Zealand U19 World Cup squad to be selected at the end of the tournament, players will also be striving to catch the eye of the national selectors.
The 2009 tournament will be played at Te Atatu Park, Auckland from 15 to 21 December. It has usually been held at Lincoln, near Christchurch, but has moved north while Lincoln is being prepared to host the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in January.
New Zealand Cricket’s National U19 tournament began in 1996/97 – prior to that the age group was Under 20.
Several BLACKCAPS have emerged from the tournament, including current players such as BJ Watling, Tim Southee and Ross Taylor, and every second year the New Zealand U19 team is selected to participate in the ICC Under 19 World Cup.
Previous winners include:
- 1996/97 Central Districts
- 1997/98 Central Districts
- 1998/99 Wellington
- 1999/2000 Canterbury
- 2000/01 Canterbury
- 2001/02 Canterbury
- 2002/03 Wellington (2 day), Otago (1 day)
- 2003/04 Northern Districts
- 2004/05 Auckland
- 2005/06 Auckland
- 2006/07 Canterbury
- 2007/08 Auckland
- 2008/09 Auckland
The teams play five one-day matches, with a rest day on Friday 18 December, culminating in a finals series on the last day. The top two ranked teams play off for the national title, while the other sides play off for third and fourth, and fifth and sixth places.
The draw for Round One, Tuesday 15 December, is:
Auckland v Central Districts
Canterbury v Northern Districts
Otago v Wellington
Visit the Under 19 tournament page for news, information an a full draw »
