THE Zimbabwe Under-19 cricket team is confident of making an impression at next year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) U19 World Cup set for Sri Lanka.
Zimbabwe kick starts their Group C campaign against hosts Sri Lanka on January 13 at the 16-team tournament that will run until February 4. The young Chevrons will follow that up with a date against Namibia on January 17 before winding off their group stage campaign against Australia two days later.
Despite finding themselves up against three-time World Cup champions Australia and hosts Sri Lanka in the same group, Zimbabwe coach Prosper Utseya believes they have what it takes to top the group.
“We are looking to finish top in our Group, it would add to the cause and give us a slightly easier set of fixtures in the Super Six,” Utseya told NewsDay Sport.
The team has been preparing for the World Cup for the past two years touring the Asian top cricketing nation, India for lengthy training periods. Utseya said that he would not have asked for better preparations.
“We have had a very good and unforgettable learning experience for the players in India. The team is in good space and raring to go,” he said.
“There's no need for an additional round of trials, we have been preparing for the past two years and I am fully aware of our players’ trend of performance.”
Zimbabwe finished in 11th place at the U19 World Cup consecutively in 2018 and 2020 before going one place in the negative at last year’s games played in West Indies.
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They only need to finish in the top three for them to qualify to the Super Six stage of the tournament. There are going to be two Super Six pools with the top two from each progressing to the semi finals.
2024 ICC U19 Sri Lanka World Cup Groups:
Group A: India, Bangladesh, Ireland, USA.
Group B: England, South Africa, West Indies, Scotland.
Group C: Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Namibia.
Group D: Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand, Nepal.
