India in relentless form to defend its ICC U19 CWC title
Newcomers Hong Kong and Afghanistan set to push England for second qualifying spot
First of four group previews being sent out in the final build-up to the event, which starts on 15 January
Title holders India will be favoured to finish top of Group A at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup (U19 CWC) in New Zealand this month, while an interesting battle looms for the second qualifying spot with Afghanistan and Hong Kong ? both first-time participants at the event ? expected to put pressure on an England side struggling for consistent form.
Teams from Group A will play in Christchurch with matches to be held at the picturesque surroundings of Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Hagley Oval and QEII Park. India and Afghanistan play on the opening day with the match the first to be televised live by ICC's broadcast partner, ESPN STAR Sports.
India enters the tournament as defending champion after beating South Africa in the 2008 final in Kuala Lumpur and has a strong history in the competition, winning it twice (2000 and 2008) and being runner-up in 2006.
The side comes to New Zealand off the back of an impressive campaign against South Africa and Sri Lanka in the recent tri-nation series in South Africa which it won after the final was abandoned without a ball being bowled. India made it through the series unbeaten as it disposed of Sri Lanka twice and South Africa once (with one other match also abandoned).
The current world champion put up some imposing performances in South Africa, dismissing Sri Lanka for just 52 in the second match of the tri-nation series, and is in fine form to defend its title in New Zealand. The only question mark remains over the ability of its batsmen to adjust to New Zealand's seamer-friendly conditions.
The team is led well by all-rounder Ashok Menaria who will bat in the middle order and who has the ability to pick up cheap wickets with his right-arm googlies. Dashing opener Mayank Agarwal amassed a magnificent 160 against Australia at Hobart last April, putting on 270 for the second wicket with Mandeep Singh (151 not out) and without doubt these are two players to watch. Saurabh Netravalkar will lead the new ball attack after picking up the man of the series award in South Africa, taking eight wickets in just three matches.
One-time winner England (1998) has warmed up for the U19 CWC with a home and away series against Bangladesh in which it was comprehensively beaten by seven matches to three. England finished fifth, equal with Australia, at the last U19 CWC in Malaysia after losing in the quarter-final to India.
England's Joe Root was named man of the series after his team's 5-2 thrashing in Bangladesh for his 194 runs at an average of 38.8, including two half-centuries in five innings, while skipper Azeem Rafiq looks set to shoulder the major bowling workload after claiming 13 wickets. Karachi-born Rafiq has already played for Yorkshire and can boast a first-class century to his name.
Vice-captain James Vince is a very capable middle-order batsman and although he failed to stand out against Bangladesh, he is a serious talent with two half-centuries in six one-day matches for Hampshire. All-rounder Ben Stokes returns to his birthplace of Christchurch for the event and his adopted country will be hoping he can provide some consistent performances to propel his side into the semi-finals.
Afghanistan will compete in an U19 CWC for the first time and the team will act as trailblazers for their men's side which is aiming to qualify for the senior event in 2015. They bring a young side to New Zealand and this tournament will provide these players will some great exposure to international cricket abroad.
Afghanistan qualified for the event by finishing second to Ireland in the global qualifying tournament in Toronto and lost only to Canada and Ireland in nine matches. Prior to that, Afghanistan finished second to Hong Kong in the Asian Cricket Council regional competition but gained redemption by beating them when it really mattered in the global qualifier.
Zakiullah Zaki was his side's best bowler in Toronto, claiming 21 wickets with his leg-spin, the most in the tournament. His best performance came against Vanuatu with six wickets, as well as taking four against Papua New Guinea. Izat Dawlatzai also claimed a bag of wickets during the tournament, with six against the Netherlands. Noor-ul-Haq will be Afghanistan's rock in the batting department after finishing the tournament with 216 runs at 54, including a highest score of 70 not out against PNG.
Hong Kong follows Afghanistan into its first U19 CWC. These two teams have already had a good chance to get to know each other during a rigorous qualifying campaign.
Captain Jamie Atkinson is Hong Kong's key player ? having already represented the senior team against Pakistan at the tender age of 17. Irfan Ahmed will be the other key contributor with the bat after scoring 293 runs in the global qualifying event last year. Ahmed won the 2008-9 Hong Kong Cricketer of the Year award as well as the Ben Hollioake Trophy for the leading player at the Hong Kong Sixes Tournament last year. The bowling attack will be led by Aizaz Khan who was in fine form last year taking 15 wickets at the qualifying tournament.
Group A squads
India:
Ashok Menaria (captain), Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Harmeet Singh, Harpreet Singh, Gaurav Jathar, Manan Sharma, Saurabh Netravalkar, Harshal Patel, Lokesh Rahul, Akshath Reddy, Sandeep Sharma, Sufiyan Shaikh, Jaydev Unadkad, Zahid Ali.
England:
Azeem Rafiq (captain), James Vince, Adam Ball, Michael Bates, Paul Best, Danny Briggs, Nathan Buck, Jos Buttler, Chris Dent, Matthew Dunn, Ateeq Javid, Jack Manuel, David Payne, Joe Root, Ben Stokes.
Afghanistan:
Shir Mohammad Shirzai (captain), Aftab Alam, Afsar Khan, Anwar Anwari, Ayub Khan, Hamza Hotak, Hashmat Shaidi, Izat Dawlatzai, Javed Ahmadi, Khushal Rasooli, M.S. Aminzai, Murad Ali, Noor-ul-Haq, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zakiullah Zaki.
Hong Kong:
Jamie Atkinson (captain), Aditya Kanthan, Aizaz Khan, Ashish Gadhia, Asif Khan, Harmeet Singh, Irfan Ahmed, Niaz Ali, Nizakat Khan, Mark Chapman, Max Tucker, Alex Smith, Shakeel Haq, Vikash Vaswani, Waqas Barkat.
Group A fixtures
Friday 15 January: India v Afghanistan, Bert Sutcliffe Oval (TV)
Saturday 16 January: England v Hong Kong, Bert Sutcliffe Oval (TV)
Sunday 17 January: India v Hong Kong, Hagley Oval
Monday 18 January: England v Afghanistan, QEII
Tuesday 19 January: Afghanistan v Hong Kong, Hagley Oval
Thursday 21 January: India v England, Bert Sutcliffe Oval (TV)
All matches start at 1030 (local time)
More information on ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2010 can be found at:www.iccevents.yahoo.com
Note: similar previews of all other groups in the U19 CWC will be sent out over the coming week.
