Coach: Jon Lewis
Captain: George Balderson
Previous Edition: Seventh
Best Finish: Champions in 1998
Team Overview: The England U-19 side would like to shrug off the disappointment of their dismal outing in 2018 as they come into this tournament with a far more convincing squad than what they walked in with last time around. Seven of the 15 squad members this time have first-team county experience under their belt and that is going to play a vital role in handling high-pressure situations during the tournament.
England is placed in Group B which consists of strong teams like Australia and West Indies. Both teams have tasted success at this stage and thus will pose a tough challenge to England. But the English side can trust their young but experienced players like Jordan Cox and Joey Evison. Cox has made 11 county appearances across all formats for Kent so far and was England U-19’s leading run-getter during last year’s Tri-Series in the Caribbean.
He had also scored an unbeaten 122 in a 50-over game against Bangladesh U-19 last year and that sums up his potential. Evison is another talented player who made his Under-19 debut last year. He has made one County appearance for Nottinghamshire too. The seam-bowling all-rounder is a powerful Lower-order batsman and equalled the record for the fastest fifty at the U-19 level when he smashed a 50 off just 18 deliveries against Sri Lanka during the winter tri-Series in the Caribbean.
Key Players: George Balderson, Jordan Cox and Joey Evison
Squad
George Balderson (c), Kasey Aldridge, Ben Charlesworth, Tom Clark, Jordan Cox (wk), Blake Cullen, Scott Currie, Harry Duke (wk), Joey Evison, Lewis Goldsworthy, Jack Haynes, George Hill, Dan Mousley, Hamidullah Qadri, Sam Young
Fixtures
Monday, January 20: England v West Indies (De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley)
Thursday, January 23: Australia v England (De Beers Diamond Oval)
Saturday, January 25: England v Nigeria (De Beers Diamond Oval)