By Akeem Greene
The 12th edition of the Under-19 World Cup was held earlier this year in New Zealand between the standard January-February window.
The 13th installment will be staged in South Africa in 2020 and according to ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley, the 14th edition will head to the West Indies for the first time.
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.
India, the current champions, has won the World Cup four times which is the highest amongst all teams, while Australia has won three times, Pakistan twice and England, South Africa and the West Indies once each.
There is also the possibility of a female Under-19 World Cup being introduced. “If you mean an Under-19 Women’s World Cup then yes that is something being looked at.”
“The ICC and the members have been working hard over the past six to nine months on a global strategy for cricket which will be launched earlier in the new year. A large part of the focus for global cricket moving forward is the opportunities we can provide to women and girls.”
“So over the course of the coming weeks and months you will see a lot more work done by cricket in this area because we recognise the potential and cricket can be the number one sport for women and girls.”
Tetley further gave his viewpoint on cricket in the Caribbean, and Guyana in particular, as the country co-hosts the Women’s World T20.
“This is my third time here and it is a great place to come; it is a great place to bring an ICC event. The enthusiasm is there and obviously the stadiums were built for the 2007 World Cup and it is a great international venue and so it is a good place to come.”
The Caribbean has hosted the 2007 50-Over World Cup for which most territories renovated or built a new stadium. There was also the Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cup in 2010.
