Dubai: Greg Chappell, the legendary batsman and one of the finest coaches, will be in the UAE during the International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 World Cup commencing from February 14 as the manager of the Australia Under-19 team.
Chappell, who is also the Cricket Australia’s National Talent Manager, was keenly involved in picking the right players for the World Cup. Australia will be one of strongest squads in the Under-19 World Cup and has been picked after extensive search for talented players all over Australia. They initially picked 30 players for a training camp and then finalised the 15-member squad.
Speaking from Australia about the importance of the Under-19 World Cup in UAE, Chappell said : “The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is a wonderful opportunity for our country’s best young talent to perform on the international stage, following in the footsteps of players like Michael Clarke, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, who have previously taken the field for Australia in the youth World Cup.”
Australia will compete in Group B of the tournament against Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Namibia with the top two teams progressing to the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Super League quarter-finals. Under the guidance of Chappell the team has worked out strategies to regain the World Cup which they lost to India in the final in front of their home crowd in 2012. They were the champions in 2010, 2002 and 1988. They will play two warm up matches before the start of the Under-19 World Cup.
Talking about the squad, Chappell said: “The balance and flexibility of this squad is pleasing, containing a solid core of Australia’s most exciting cricketers. Jake Doran and Ben McDermott are skilful strokemakers, who also provide excellent glove work as wicketkeepers, and join a number of genuine all-rounders selected in the squad who will provide solid depth with bat and ball.”
McDermott is the son of former Australian fast bowler and Test’s team’s bowling coach, Craig McDermott.
The Australian team will be coached by Cricket Australia’s High Performance Coach Graeme Hick. The squad is arriving here after playing three matches in Sri Lanka as build-up for the tournament.
