ICC U19 MEN’S CRICKET WORLD CUP IS BACK AFTER 14 DAY BREAK

The ICC U19 World Cup comes to Thailand as eight teams will be playing at AIT and TCG in Bangkok in the Division 2 Asia Qualifier.

The qualification pathway for the next ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup which will be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia in 2026 starts on Sunday 25^th February in Bangkok at AIT and TCG.

It will be just two weeks since the final of the ICC U19 CWC 2024 was played when Australia U19s beat India U19s by 79 runs at Benoni in South Africa as the packed schedule of international cricket starts its next cycle.

The Division 2 Asia Qualifier is the first stage in the qualification program for the 2026 U19 World Cup which will see teams from the five cricketing regions of Africa, Americas, Asia, East Asia Pacific and Europe qualify for the global competition alongside the pre-qualified teams.

The Division 2 Asia Qualifier will see eight teams compete in 50-over matches for two places in the Division 1 Asia Qualifier. Bahrain, Thailand, Kuwait and Malaysia play each other in Group A while Oman, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Bhutan play each other in Group B.

The leading two teams in each group will qualify for the semi-finals on 3^rd March and the winners of the semi-finals will meet in the final at TCG on 5^th March as well as qualifying for the Division 1 Asia Qualifier.

The last time this particular event was held was in September and October 2022 in Oman when the two teams that progressed to Division 1 were Singapore and Hong Kong as Singapore won the final by five wickets.

The Division 1 Asia Qualifier was then held in Ajman in UAE and six teams took part with Nepal, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Kuwait playing each other in a five-match league.

Nepal were the champions as they won all their matches and so they took part in the main U19 World Cup held in South Africa recently. UAE finished second and Singapore came third but Hong Kong, Kuwait and Malaysia came down to Division 2 to play in this event.

Oman and Bahrain were the beaten semi-finalists when the tournament was held in Oman in 2022. Saudi Arabia finished third in the group stages while Bhutan and Thailand finished fourth with both teams losing all three matches.

Hong Kong reached the final in Division 2 last time and Kuwait and Malaysia played alongside them in Division 1 but Oman and Bahrain both reached the Division 2 semi-finals in 2022  so it should be a competitive tournament.

Saudi Arabia will be also hoping to improve on a third-place finish last time and they will be looking to reach the semi-finals. Thailand and Bhutan will want to do much better than they did in 2022.

The opening round of matches are played on Sunday 25^th February when Bahrain faces Thailand at TCG and Kuwait face Malaysia at AIT in Group A. The following day sees Group B get underway with Hong Kong playing Bhutan at TCG and Oman playing Saudi Arabia at AIT.

It is a great opportunity for Thailand that the ICC have selected Bangkok as a venue for they U19 Men’s World Cup qualification stage and it should be a festival of junior cricket over the next ten days.