Hunt begins for the U19 World Cup

The hunt begins for the eleventh time…16 countries will contend for the coveted ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup trophy and the tag of ‘World Champions’ in Bangladesh from January 27 to February 14, 2016.

Bangladesh, led by Mehedi Hasan Miraz will begin their campaign on the opening day at Chittagong against the defending champions South Africa. Tigers have shown their superiority with the bat and ball in home conditions over West Indies in January, and kept up the momentum coming into this world cup with resounding victories over Zimbabwe and England in the warm-up matches.

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Although Bangladesh won those matches quite convincingly in the end, there were periods, particularly in the warm-up games when their opponents held the upper hand and fought hard till the very last ball. For the hosts, their batting looks a bit thin at the top, but the middle and lower middle order batsmen have contributed after mini-collapses significantly. The early morning start at 9 am, fresh, moist wicket, lush outfield and the new cherry…all these factors are not in favour of Bangladesh’s opening batsmen and those to follow.

If Bangladesh bat first, Saif Hassan and Pinak Ghosh, the openers will be tested in terms of their technique as well as temperament. If they can see out the new ball when it is doing a bit, run-making will become much easier later on with the field spread out.

On the other hand, if they depart early, the middle order will come under immense pressure to stay ahead of the game. In such a scenario, the responsibility to consolidate, and charge afterwards must be taken up by Joyraz Sheik, Nazmul Hossain and the captain.

In the warm-up games, they were well supported by the lower order, with handy cricketers like Zakir Hasan, Saeed Sarkar and Mohammad Saifuddin all chipping in when the chips were down. The batting depth of the Tigers is the key, and will most likely be the deciding factor on pitches in this country.

Bangladesh U19s ensured a convincing victory in the warm up match against England U19s. Photo: ICC

On the bowling department, Bangladesh have more boxes ticked, since the bowlers have exploited the home conditions brilliantly this year. They have maintained good discipline, hardly conceded extras besides chocking the opposing batters with tight spells from both ends.

Saifuddin, Miraz and Rana have given Tigers regular breakthroughs, mostly with the new ball to derail their opponents’ innings early. As long as they continue to take wickets, Bangladesh will most likely come out in front, against even the toughest teams in their backyard. U19 bowlers have adapted to the conditions well, understand at what pace to bowl, slow or fast. They can help become Bangladesh a true world beater if the fielders back them up, and the batters back themselves for good.

South Africa, led by Tony de Zorzi are among the four teams with England, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe to enter this tournament with fresh faces. Lawrence Mahatlane, the former assistant coach of Lions who took over the coaching duties of the Under-19 national team from Ray Jennings last year, was confident that he had the right squad to defend their title.

The Proteas brushed aside Fiji by 283 runs in their first warm-up match, but ended up with a tie against West Indies in the 35-overs game at Fatullah. Their top-order batters have got starts, and the middle order shored up by Zorzi, Moonsamy and Mulder make the defending champions a strong side on paper.

South Africa bowlers have managed to acclimatize well, and pose a threat to any team in this competition. Luke Philander, Sean Whitehead and Conor McKerr are the ones who stood out, and can take a wicket at any stage of the match. The rest of the bowling crew have fared well, and didn’t allow the scoring rate to accelerate too much during the middle part of the games.

With one of the best fielding units in this world cup, South Africa are definitely one of the favourites, and if the batters can keep up their form, bowlers may find it easier to do their job. Their use of slower cutters as well as change in flight show how much they have learnt from the bitter experience of their senior team in Bangladesh last year. Since most of the Proteas bowlers can extract extra bounce, they may find the early morning conditions in Bangladesh in January quite pleasant for the purpose in hand.