ICC scrap Under 19 World Cup Qualifying Tournament

In a further blow to Associates and Affiliates cricket, the ICC have decided to scrap the Under 19 World Cup Qualifying tournament.

That means this year’s competition, to be held in Ireland next month, will be the last for the forseeable future.

The ICC Development Committee has made the decision to revert to the previous system of allocating one position to each Region. This had resulted in previous World Cups some of the stronger Associate sides missing out, due to the imbalance in strength of the various Regions.

Cost is being cited as the main reason for the ICC decision – it costs $750,000 to host the ten team qualifying tournament, and The Development Committee are of the opinion that the money could be better employed elsewhere – where exactly, they don’t stipulate.

The Under 19 World Cup Qualifier starts in Dublin on July 28, with the second stage taking place in Derry from August 3-9.

The ten participating teams are Ireland, Scotland, USA, Canada, Afghanistan, Nepal, Kenya, Namibia, Vanuatu and PNG.

The ICC are expected to announce the fixtures in due course, with the tournament now just over five weeks away.