Jason Sangha To Lead Australia In ICC U-19 World Cup 2018

Middle-order batsman Jason Sangha will lead Australia’s 15-man Under 19 squad in the upcoming  ICC Under 19 World Cup, Cricket Australia announced on Friday (December 5). Two other notable names in the squad are allrounder Austin Waugh, the son of legendary Australia skipper Steve Waugh, and Will Sutherland, the son of Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland.

Sangha recently grabbed the headlines after slamming a fine century for Cricket Australia XI versus England XI in Townsville last month, thus becoming the youngest Australian to score a first-class hundred. Last year, he also became the youngest in Australia’s history to secure a rookie contract with New South Wales.

Sutherland, meanwhile, has been named a vice-captain for the forthcoming tournament. The highly-rated allrounder, who chose cricket as a career option over AFL in July this year,  played for Cricket Australia XI against Pakistan last summer and recently picked up four wickets for Victoria in a JLT One-Day Cup match.

Fast-bowler Xavier Bartlett, opening batsman Max Bryant and Param Uppal are some of the other key members of the team as Australia would be looking to become the first side to win the U-19 World Cup four times.

Meanwhile, the colts will be coached by former Australia speedster Ryan Harris while former opening batsman Chris Rogers will be Harris’ deputy.

“This is a very exciting squad, and there is some exceptional talent within this group,” National Talent Manager Greg Chappell noted. “We’ve got a good spread of skills through the squad.

“We’re quite strong with our pace bowling, we have good depth with our spin bowling, and a number of our top-order batsmen all offer viable bowling options, which gives us a lot of flexibility when it comes to team selection,” he added.

The winners of the inaugural edition have been placed in Group B alongside India, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe. Sangha & Co. will begin their campaign against India on January 14 at Tauranga’s Bay Oval, before locking horns against Zimbabwe (Jan 17) and Papua New Guinea (Jan 19) in Christchurch.

Australia Under 19 World Cup squad:

Jason Sangha (c), Will Sutherland (VC), Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Jack Edwards, Zak Evans, Jarrod Freeman, Ryan Hadley, Baxter Holt, Nathan McSweeney, Jonathan Merlo, Jason Ralston, Param Uppal, Austin Waugh, Lloyd Pope

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