ICC Under-19 World Cup - Review of Past Editions

The ICC Cricket Under-19 World Cup is an ideal platform to make an impression on the world stage for the first time, and over the years, it has produced several talented players who have progressed to the senior team. 

Here is a review of each edition of the tournament, along with the youngsters who went on to greater heights:

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1988 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup

Winner: Australia

The inaugural ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup, known as the Youth World Cup at the time, was conceived by Graham Halbish, the Australian Cricket Board General Manager. Eight teams participated in the event, the seven Full Members (Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies) plus an ICC Associates XI team, whose squad comprised four players from Zimbabwe, plus two each from Bangladesh, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands.

The tournament was played on a round-robin format, with Australia and Pakistan progressing to the final. Although Pakistan had won when the two teams met in the group stage, Australia emerged victor in the final by five wickets. Incidentally, its earlier loss to Pakistan was the only blemish on what was a perfect campaign for Australia.

Australia's Brett Williams was the leading run-scorer with 471 runs, while his teammate Wayne Holdsworth and Pakistan's Mushtaq Ahmed were the joint leading wicket-takers with 19 wickets apiece. Some of the other players that went on to represent their countries at the senior level were England's Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain, Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and West Indies' Brian Lara.

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1998 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup

Winner: England

Ten years later, the ICC decided to revive the tournament and make it a biennial event, the second edition taking place in South Africa. The number of teams participating increased to 16, consisting of the then nine Full Members and seven qualifiers – Bangladesh, Denmark, Ireland, Kenya, Namibia, Papua New Guinea and Scotland.

The format had also been changed. The teams were divided into four pools, named after Bradman, Cowdrey, Gavaskar and Sobers respectively. The top two teams from each of the pools would then play in a Super League to decide the tournament finalists, with the non-qualifiers playing a separate Plate competition. Bangladesh beat West Indies by six wickets in the Plate tournament final, while England triumphed over New Zealand by seven wickets in the Super League final.

West Indies' Chris Gayle was the leading run-scorer with 364 runs, while his teammate Ramnaresh Sarwan and Zimbabwe's Mluleki Nkala were the joint leading wicket-takers with 16 wickets each. Other notable members of the class of '98 were England's Graeme Swann, India's Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh, and Pakistan's Shoaib Malik.

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2000 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup

Winner: India

Sri Lanka hosted the third edition and the teams consisted of nine Full Members and seven qualifiers – Americas Region, Bangladesh, Ireland, Namibia, Nepal, Kenya and the Netherlands. Nepal became the first non-Full Member side to progress to the quarter-finals. In the Plate final, South Africa defeated Bangladesh by 80 runs, while India won the Super League final against Sri Lanka by six wickets.

South Africa's Graeme Smith was the leading run-scorer with 348 runs, while Pakistan's Zahid Saeed was the leading wicket-taker with 15 wickets. India's Yuvraj Singh was named Player of the Tournament. Other notable members of the class of '00 were Australia's Michael Clarke, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, New Zealand's Brendon McCullum, England's Ian Bell, Zimbabwe's Tatenda Taibu, and Ireland's John Mooney.

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2002 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup

Winner: Australia

It was New Zealand's turn to host the tournament and the teams included 10 Full Members along with six qualifiers – Canada, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Scotland. In the Plate final, Zimbabwe cantered to a 137-run victory against Nepal, while Australia claimed its second ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup title with a seven-wicket win over South Africa in the Super League final.

Australia's Cameron White was the leading run-scorer with 423 runs, while teammate Xavier Doherty was the leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets. Zimbabwe's Tatenta Taibu was named Player of the Tournament. Other notable members of the class of '02 were South Africa's Hashim Amla, Pakistan's Umar Gul, New Zealand's Ross Taylor, West Indies' Dwayne Bravo, Zimbabwe's Brendan Taylor, and Scotland's Kyle Coetzer.

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2004 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup

Winner: Pakistan

Bangladesh hosted the tournament, and the teams comprised 10 Full Members and six qualifiers – Canada, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Scotland. In the Plate final, Bangladesh beat Australia by eight wickets, while Pakistan secured a 25-run win against West Indies in a closely-contested Super League final.

India's Shikhar Dhawan was both the leading run-scorer with 505 runs and the Player of the Tournament, while Bangladesh's Enamul Haque Jr was the leading wicket-taker with 22 wickets. Other notable members of the class of '04 were England's Alastair Cook, India's Suresh Raina, Ireland's Eoin Morgan and William Porterfield, Pakistan's Wahab Riaz, New Zealand's BJ Watling, South Africa's Vernon Philander, and Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews.

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2006 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup

Winner: Pakistan

The tournament took place in Sri Lanka, and the teams featured 10 Full Members along with six qualifiers – Ireland, Namibia, Nepal, Scotland, Uganda and United States of America. In the nail-biting Plate final, Nepal pipped New Zealand by one wicket in the story of the tournament. The Super League final was also a low-scoring thriller as Pakistan sealed a 38-run victory over India, becoming the first team to win back-to-back ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup titles.

India's Cheteshwar Pujara was the leading run-scorer with 349 runs, and also the Player of the Tournament, while Australia's Moises Henriques was the leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets. Other notable members of the class of '06 were Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqar Rahim, India's Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, Australia's David Warner, New Zealand's Martin Guptill and Tim Southee, England's Moeen Ali, and Pakistan's Sarfraz Ahmed.

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2008 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup

Winner: India

The tournament was staged in Malaysia -- the first time an Associate Member country was the host -- and the teams included 10 Full Members with six qualifiers – Bermuda, Ireland, Malaysia, Namibia, Nepal and Papua New Guinea. In the Plate final, West Indies won by a handsome seven-wicket margin against Nepal, while India secured its second ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup title, with a 12-run win via the Duckworth-Lewis method against South Africa in the Super League final.

India's Tanmay Srivastava was the leading run-scorer with 262 runs, while South Africa's Wayne Parnell was the leading wicket-taker with 18 wickets. New Zealand's Tim Southee was the Player of the Tournament. Other notable members of the class of '08 were India's Virat Kohli, Australia's Phillip Hughes, Steven Smith and Josh Hazlewood, New Zealand's Kane Williamson, Trent Boult and Corey Anderson, and Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal.

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2010 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup

Winner: Australia

New Zealand became the first team to host the event a second time, and the teams comprised 10 Full Members with six qualifiers – Afghanistan, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Papua New Guinea and USA. In the Plate final, Bangladesh stormed to a 195-run win over Ireland while the Super League final was a repeat of the inaugural final, Australia v Pakistan. Just as it had done in 1988, Australia defeated Pakistan, this time by a 25-run margin, to grab its third ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup title.

South Africa's Dominic Hendricks was the leading run-scorer with 391 runs and was named the Player of the Tournament, while Papua New Guinea's Raymond Haoda was the leading wicket-taker with 15 wickets. Other notable members of the class of '10 were England's Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, South Africa's Quinton de Kock, West Indies' Jason Holder, India's KL Rahul and New Zealand's Doug Bracewell.

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2012 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup

Winner: India

The tournament was staged in Australia, and the teams that figured were the 10 Full Members with six qualifiers – Scotland, Nepal, Ireland, Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and Namibia. Sri Lanka won the Plate Championship, gliding past Afghanistan by seven wickets. India won its third ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup title with a six-wicket victory against Australia in the final.

Bangladesh's Anamul Haque was the leading run-scorer with 365 runs, while England's Reece Topley was the leading wicket-taker with 19 wickets. Australia's Will Bosisto was the Player of the Tournament. Other notable members of the class of '12 were Bangladesh's Taskin Ahmed, Australia's Ashton Agar, and Afghanistan's Najibullah Zadran.

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2014 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup

Winner: South Africa

The United Arab Emirate become the latest country to host the tournament, and the teams consisted of 10 Full Members with five qualifiers – Afghanistan, Canada, Namibia, Papua New Guinea and Scotland. Afghanistan became the second non-Full Member side to qualify for the quarter-finals. In the Plate final, Bangladesh cruised to a 77-run victory against New Zealand. In the Super League final, South Africa, which had not lost a match in the tournament, motored to a six-wicket win against Pakistan.

Bangladesh's Shadman Islam was the leading run-scorer with 406 runs and, while Sri Lanka's Anuk Fernando was the leading wicket-taker with 15 wickets. South Africa's Aiden Markram was the Player of the Tournament. Other notable members of the class of '14 were South Africa's Kagiso Rabada, Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman, India's Kuldeep Yadav, and West Indies' Tagenarine Chanderpaul.

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Source - ICC Cricket Website