Dubai: As the sun sets on a thrilling first edition of the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World
Cup, cricket fans craving a glimpse at the next generation of superstars can look forward to a busy pathway event schedule as attention now turns towards the next U19 event, the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024, in Sri Lanka.
While Grace Scrivens, Shweta Sehrawat and Maggie Clarke recently made a name for themselves in South Africa at the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup, the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup can also boast top names that have been introduced onto the world stage at the event; notably Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy winner in the recently announced ICC Awards 2022, Babar Azam.
The 16-team event returns to Sri Lanka for the first time since 2006. 41 matches will take place from January 2024, taking in two round-robin stages – an initial four groups of four teams, and a subsequent Super 6 stage from which the Semi Finalists will be determined.
The hosts are currently one of 11 teams already qualified for the event by virtue of being the best-placed ICC Full Member nations at the previous edition in 2022, with the remaining five nationsdue to compete for a place throughout a busy 2023 calendar.
Qualification for the final five places began in 2022 with Division Two Qualifiers taking place in the Asia, East-Asia Pacific and Europe regions. This stage helped decide the final teams lined up to battle it out at the Regional Qualifier stage, held in each of the five ICC regions, where the winning country in each will seal a place at the landmark event.
Speaking on the crunch pathway events due to take place before Sri Lanka 2024, ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley commented, “The success of the recently concluded ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup demonstrates how important these events are for cultivating the next generation of talented cricketers that will take the game to new levels."
“As well as welcoming new competing nations during this pathway, qualification for the 2024 edition has already witnessed the competitive standard of cricket that is evident around the world. I am sure that we will see more thrilling encounters in the coming months and that Sri Lanka 2024 will continue the rich legacy this event has in forging playing opportunities on the global stage for some of the most exciting young talent in the game,” Tetley added.(UNI)
