Boshier to lead New Zealand in Under-19 World Cup

Hamilton: Kaylum Boshier, the allrounder, will lead New Zealand in next year’s ICC Under-19 World Cup on home soil, New Zealand Cricket announced on Tuesday (December 12). The 16-team event will be held from January 13 to February 3.

The 15-man squad has four players - Finn Allen, Dale Phillips, Rachin Ravindra and Felix Murray - who featured in the 2016 edition of the tournament, played in Bangladesh.

Paul Wiseman, the head coach, expressed his excitement over the players selected, but also stressed that it wasn’t the end of the road for those who weren’t named for the event.

“We’re confident with the side we have selected for the tournament,” he said. “It will be a great experience for the players involved, but for those not selected, there will be other opportunities going forward. Selection or non-selection will not define these youngsters’ cricketing careers.”

New Zealand will play Zimbabwe and Pakistan in unofficial warm-up matches after attending a training camp in Tauranga, starting from December 17. It will also take on Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea, on January 8 and 10 respectively, in official warm-up matches.

The host, who is placed in Group A, will play its first game against Windies, the defending champion, on January 13. South Africa and Kenya are the other two teams in the same group.

Squad: Kaylum Boshier (capt), Finn Allen (wk), Jakob Bhula, Max Chu, Katene Clarke, Matthew Fisher, Luke Georgeson, Ben Lockrose, Callum McLachlan, Felix Murray, Sandeep Patel, Dale Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Connor Sullivan, Todd Watson.