USA Cricket recently announced their Men’s U19 National Championship details, including groups, tournament format, match officials, and squad announcement timelines.
Two groups of four teams will compete at the Prairie View Cricket Complex in Houston, Texas from April 4th – 11th for the Men’s Under 19 National Championships. Group A is composed of Mid-Atlantic Zone, South Zone, West Zone Reds and “Colts”. Group B includes East Zone, Midwest Zone, South West Zone and West Zone Blues.
The group stage will include a single round robin (three games each), with the top team in each group advancing to the Championship Final on Saturday, April 10. The remaining teams will play cross-over matches to determine 3rd through 8th place order.
Eight umpires have been selected for the prestigious tournament, including Sameer Bandekar, Owen Brown, Ravishankar Byrappagowda, Matin Inamdar, Danny Khan, Sadij Khoja, Jermaine Lindo, and Vijaya Mallela.
All 16 games will be played on turf wickets between April 5th and 10th, bookended by training on April 4th and 11th.
‘I think the National championships rank at the top of cricket competitions in my cricketing journey so far,’ West Zone hopeful and East Bay Blazers’ Dev Thadani told Emerging Cricket.
‘I have played in many tournaments, but I believe the level of competition that will be held at the Nationals is unmatched.’
Morrisville Cardinals’ Abhiram Bolisetty, hopeful to represent the South Zone, adds to that sentiment.
‘The national U19 championship, in my mind, is the most important tournament for anyone looking to represent the men’s national U19 team. It provides an opportunity for all the young cricketers across the country to showcase our skills on a bigger platform that is being monitored by USA Cricket.’
‘I think for any young cricketer in the United States, the direction that cricket is taking in this country is really exciting,’ Bolisetty continued. ‘There is plenty of cricket coming up for people to look forward to.’
Thadani and Bolisetty featured heavily for their respective Minor League Cricket teams in the 2020 exhibition games, both featured in Emerging Cricket’s Team U21, and attended the recently concluded MLC Elite Talent Development Camp.
‘I believe the nationally supported events have been a huge boost compared to what we’ve had in prior years,’ Thadani added. ‘The high level of cricket that is being played in these events is only allowing everyone taking part in it to get better.’
Squads of 14 will be named for each of the eight teams on March 22, following the final zonal trials on March 20th and 21st. Key coaching staff will be present at the National Championship, including USA Men’s National Head Coach, J Arunkumar, and USA Men’s National Youth Coach, Kevin Darlington.
The tournament will help National Selectors decide on the team which will represent USA Cricket at the Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2022 Qualifier in August.
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