News

DUBLIN – Selectors have named the Ireland Under-19s Men’s squad that will head to South Africa next month to compete at the 2024 ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup, where they are placed in Group A that also includes Bangladesh, the USA, and the holders India.

The tournament which was due to be hosted by Sri Lanka in January, had a change in host nation due to ICC sanctions against Sri Lanka Cricket.

Ireland qualified automatically for the tournament following a tenth-place finish at the 2022 World Cup in the West Indies.

Railway Union’s Philippe le Roux leads the 15-player squad, which features several players who formed part of Ireland’s U19 team in the same tournament in West Indies two years ago. Those players – Scott Macbeth, Daniel Forkin, Reuben Wilson and le Roux adding vital experience to the group.

THE SQUAD

• Macdara Cosgrave (Pembroke Cricket Club), Harry Dyer (CSNI Cricket Club), Daniel Forkin (Merrion Cricket Club), Kian Hilton (Cliftonville Academy), Ryan Hunter (CSNI Cricket Club), Philippe le Roux (captain) (Railway Union Cricket Club), Finn Lutton (CSNI Cricket Club), Scott Macbeth (Brigade Cricket Club), Carson McCullough (CIYMS Cricket Club), John McNally (Clontarf Cricket Club), Jordan Neill (Merrion Cricket Club), Oliver Riley (YMCA Cricket Club), Gavin Roulston (Bready Cricket Club), Matthew Weldon (The Hills Cricket Club), Reuben Wilson (YMCA Cricket Club)

Non-Travelling Reserves:

• Adam Leckey (CSNI Cricket Club), Hayden Melly (Brigade Cricket Club), James West (CSNI Cricket Club)

Coaching and Support staff::

• Peter Johnston (Head Coach), Abert van der Merwe (Manager), Andre Botha (Assistant Coach), Darren Nicol (Physiotherapist), Ollie Kanavan (Analyst), Stuart Thompson (Strength & Conditioning)

SCHEDULE

Ireland’s Group A schedule is as follows:

• 19 January: Ireland U-19 v USA U-19; Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein.
• 22 January: Ireland U-19 v Bangladesh U-19; Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein.
• 25 January: Ireland U-19 v India U-19; Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein.

(see further information and full tournament schedule here)

The other Groups are:

• Group B: England, South Africa, West Indies and Scotland
• Group C: Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Namibia
• Group D: Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand and Nepal.

The top three sides from each group progress to the Super Six phase of the event, with each team carrying forward the number of points, Wins, NRR that they earned against their fellow super-six qualifying teams. The Super Six will get underway on 30 January. The top two teams from each group in the Super Six stage will then reach to the semi-finals.

Speaking of the squad and the tournament, Ireland Under-19’s Men’s Head Coach, Peter Johnston said:

We have selected what we believe is a very strong, well-balanced and relatively experienced Under-19 squad. Philippe le Roux will continue to captain the side and bring with him his experience of going all the way to the Plate Final of the 2022 World Cup. We have a quartet of exciting young pace bowlers along with great options of spinners and very skilled batters who are clear on their roles for the team.  The U19 World Cup is a fantastic experience which replicates Senior World Cup’s extremely well. 

The team will go in with confidence, given their performances last season, which included a one-day international win over England and also because they have been training very professionally, covering all bases required for high performance. The squad will already be familiar with South Africa, following our very successful tour of Pretoria early on in 2023. We look forward to what should be an excellent Training Camp at the world-class facility in Potchefstroom along with some high-quality fixtures. The camp environment should replicate the flat pitches and hot conditions that we will most likely come up against in the group stages, so that we can continue to develop our own brand of cricket. 

We had several selection headaches due to the depth of young talent continuing to emerge in Irish cricket. In addition to the touring party, we have named three official reserves, they are Adam Leckey (seam bowling all-rounder), James West (leg spinner) and Hayden Melly (wicketkeeper-batter). While it is important that all stay ready, both Adam and James will have an opportunity to push for the next World Cup in 2026 and I would be confident that Hayden who is currently training hard at Cardiff Uni can push for opportunities to continue his development in other provincial and or national pathways next season and beyond. 

We are in a very competitive challenging group with USA, India and Bangladesh, but we will be striving as high as we can and approaching each game with a mindset of how to win and leaving no stone unturned in our preparation and what we can execute and control to perform to the best of our ability.