By BV Swagath
The ICC Under-19 World Cup 2012 will kick off tomorrow in the Australian State of Queensland. The tournament will feature 16 teams which are distributed in four groups. Apart from the 10 ICC full members, the ICC U19 World Cup 2012 will see the participation of six associate nations - Scotland, Nepal, Ireland, Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and Namibia.
Schedule: ICC Under-19 World Cup 2012
Warm-ups Results: Under-19 World Cup 2012 Matches Results
Groups of ICC Under-19 World Cup 2012:
Group A: Australia, England, Nepal and Ireland
Group B: Pakistan, New Zealand, Scotland and Afghanistan
Group C: West Indies, India, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea
Group D: Sri Lanka, South Africa, Bangladesh and Namibia
History of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup: The first ever Under-19 World Cup was held in 1988 and for the next 10 years the event wasn’t held. However, since 1998, the ICC has held this youth World Cup every two years. The last edition of the Under-19 World Cup was held in New Zealand in 2010 and was won by Australia led by Mitchell Marsh.
The 2012 edition of the Under-19 World Cup will be the 9th edition of this tournament. Australia has clinched the Under-19 World Cup three times followed up by India and Pakistan who have won it twice.
Here is the list of winners of the ICC U-19 World Cup:
Winner of Under-19 World Cup 1988 in Australia: Australia
Winner of Under-19 World Cup 1998 in South Africa: England
Winner of Under-19 World Cup 2000 in Sri Lanka: India
Winner of Under-19 World Cup 2002 in New Zealand: Australia
Winner of Under-19 World Cup 2004 in Bangladesh: Pakistan
Winner of Under-19 World Cup 2006 in Sri Lanka: Pakistan
Winner of Under-19 World Cup 2008 in Malaysia: India
Winner of Under-19 World Cup 2010 in New Zealand: Australia