• Scotland defeated Italy in the final U19 match to complete their unbeaten season and earn a spot in the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2024.
• 15 teams have now confirmed their participation in the competition, leaving one spot up for grabs in the ongoing Americas Qualifier.
Gould, the captain, said, “It feels really good to cross the line and get to Sri Lanka.”
The ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Europe Qualifier concluded on Saturday, with Scotland coming out on top in the Netherlands to secure their spot as the 15th team to go to the main event in Sri Lanka in January.
Scotland’s victory in the European Qualifier
The Saltires, under the captaincy of Owen Gould, comfortably defeated Italy by 151 runs to trigger the celebrations and secure their third consecutive appearance at the competition.
When Scotland batted first, they were well on their way to reaching 193 for one before a wave of wickets fell, reducing their score to 229 from 39.4 overs. Jamie Dunk, the Saltires’ opener, led the team in runs with an outstanding 96 from 99 balls, but Gurpreet Singh, who took seven Scottish wickets for 25 runs from his eight overs, was the catalyst for the collapse. It took Italy a while to get going in response, and they were eventually dismissed for 78 runs after Adi Hegde grabbed five for 15 in his nine overs.
Prior to their victory on Saturday, they had defeated Jersey, the hosts, and Norway, and their unblemished record meant they would take first place following a week of contentious matches between the contending teams.
Scotland’s collective triumph contained some standout individual performances from its long list of gifted young people. Dunk finished the week with 255 runs from four games and was named the Player of the Tournament for the Qualifier.
Alec Price, a seamer, took four wickets for 29 runs against Jersey in the season opener to help his team secure their first victory. The Saltires defeated the Netherlands by 46 runs in the next match, which was a high-scoring contest, with to half-centuries from Price (82) and Bahadar Esakhiel (55). Price and Dunk (52 not out) masterminded the victory over Norway as they guided their team to a ten-wicket victory while chasing down a modest 117-run total.
Gould, the captain of Scotland, reflected on his team’s excellent performance in the Netherlands and stated, “I’m incredibly happy of everyone. It feels incredible to win the tournament. Being able to cross the border and enter Sri Lanka feels incredibly fantastic.
We had a challenging pre-season, but this week, we truly clicked as a team, came together at the perfect time, and earned the four victories. We now look forward to the next phase.
The final country to qualify for the World Cup in Sri Lanka will be determined by the current U19 Americas Qualifier, rounding up the list of teams traveling to Sri Lanka with their sights set on winning the trophy.
Just five months left till the start of the renowned event in Sri Lanka, as the format returns to the island nation for the first time since 2006. The ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup has a solid track record of launching the careers of some of the most recognizable characters on the international arena.
The format for the 2024 ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup
The ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Sri Lanka 2024 will include 41 matches between 16 nations. As the top-finishing Full Member countries from the last competition in 2022, 11 teams have automatically qualified for the event. Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, Ireland, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and Zimbabwe are among them.
One team from each region will be granted admission to the competition for the remaining five seats, which will be filled through regional qualification processes.
The U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Sri Lanka 2024 will be held at each of the qualifying tournaments that the Americas and EAP will hold in 2023.
Each of the three regions—Africa, Asia, and Europe—has a two-step certification process. To select the teams that would compete in the second and final qualifying event, the Regional Qualifier, which will take place in 2023, these regions conducted Division 2 Qualifiers in 2022.
The U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Sri Lanka 2024 will only be open to the winning teams from the regional qualifiers.
With Nepal, New Zealand, and Namibia moving forward from their respective regions, the qualification procedures for Asia, EAP, and Africa came to an end. With the final team confirmed following the end of the current Americas Qualifier, Scotland qualifies as the fifteenth confirmed nation.