U19 CWC: Stars from 2008

The seventh edition of the U19 CWC was the first to be hosted by a non-Test playing nation, taking place in Malaysia. India claimed their first win since 2000 as future star Virat Kohli led his side to glory against South Africa in the final.

The captain scored 235 runs across a low-scoring tournament, averaging 47 and registering one ton. His teammate Tanmay Srivastava, however, finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, making 262, but he didn’t go on to play Test cricket although he had already scored a Ranji Trophy hundred by this stage of his career.

Despite an impressive group of fledglings, Australia only managed a sixth-place finish. The late Phillip Hughes made 89 runs in four innings, while current Test and ODI captain Steve Smith scored 114 at a modest average of 28.5. Pace bowler Josh Hazlewood also featured, taking six wickets. This was to be the first of two U19 World Cups for Hazlewood.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand also boasted some genuine talent. Kane Williamson scored slowly to amass 124 runs, averaging 31. In the shadow of Tim Southee, who first featured in the preceding tournament, Trent Boult made a breakthrough with 11 wickets, including 7/20 against Malaysia, which remain the second-best figures in the event’s history.

Other players of note include South Africa’s Wayne Parnell, who spearheaded South Africa's progress to the final with a tournament-leading 18 wickets, and Umar Akmal who, despite making a career as a batsman took three wickets.

Malaysia’s temperamental weather led to a rain-affected final, which India won by 12 runs, using the Duckworth-Lewis method.