In a massive boost for the city, Northern Cape Cricket has confirmed that the city will be one of the hosts for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in January 2020.
In a massive boost for the city, Northern Cape Cricket has confirmed that the city will be one of the hosts for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in January 2020.
The event will be held in four cities, namely Kimberley, Benoni, Potchefstroom and Bloemfontein.
Dubbed as a tournament that showcases the world’s future cricket stars, the event is expected to attract more than 1 billion television viewers.
An ecstatic Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul today pledged his support from the side of local government and promised that disadvantaged communities would also benefit.
Sol Plaatje Executive Mayor Patrick Mabilo added that service delivery challenges would be addressed in time for the event and discouraged residents from littering in an effort to keep the city clean.
The ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup is an international cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) contested by national under-19 teams.
The local event is expected to attract teams from 16 countries around the world.
First contested in 1988, as the Youth World Cup, it was not staged again until 1998. Since then, the World Cup has been held as a biennial event, organised by the ICC. The first edition of the tournament had only eight participants, but every subsequent edition has included sixteen teams.
As the host, South Africa will open their campaign against Afghanistan in the opening match of the 24-day tournament at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley on January 17.
The United Arab Emirates and Canada are the other teams they will have to contend with in Group D of the 16-team tournament, the final of which is scheduled for 9 February.
In other matches slated over the first few days, New Zealand take on Japan who will be making their debut in an ICC global event at the North West University Oval In Potchefstroom on 18 January while defending champions India play Sri Lanka at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on 19 January. Nigeria, who are also making their ICC event debut will face Australia in Kimberley on 20 Jan for their opening game.
“The U19 Cricket World Cup is a very important event in our calendar as it brings together the world’s most promising young players in a major ICC tournament, giving them the experience of competing on the global stage,” ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley was quoted as saying
“We have some excellent venues for this tournament, and we are offering free entry to all matches giving cricket fans in South Africa the opportunity to watch the next generation of superstars. I wish all the teams the very best in their preparations for the tournament and to Cricket South Africa in organising the event.”
Tournament Director Sivuyile Mqingwana stated that Cricket South Africa was delighted to be hosting this prestigious event that further nurtures the stars of tomorrow. “We look forward to hosting fans and visitors from all over the world and hope our cricketing guests and other sports tourists will enjoy both world-class cricket action, as well as the great treasures that ‘Mzansi’ has to offer.”
“This ICC U19 cricket showpiece affords our country’s cricket community the opportunity to watch the world’s best young players up close and personal.”
Some of the world’s best players have showcased their talent at previous editions of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup including top-ranked Test batsman Steve Smith, top-ranked ODI and T20I batsman Virat Kohli, England Test captain Joe Root andNew Zealand captain Kane Williamson.
South Africa have seen several top players like Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Dean Elgar, Wayne Parnell, Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada make it big in international cricket after first catching the eye during U19 World Cups.
Other players to have featured in past editions include Brian Lara (West Indies), Michael Atherton (England), Michael Clarke (Australia), Virender Sehwag (India) Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan) and Rashid Khan (Afghanistan).
India have won the title four times, Australia have won three times, Pakistan have won it twice while England, South Africa and the West Indies have won once each.
Groupings:
Group A: India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Japan
Group B: Australia, England, West Indies, Nigeria
Group C: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Scotland
