West Indies to host 2022 U19 Men's Cricket World Cup, New Zealand withdraw

New Zealand have withdrawn from the tournament due to the mandatory quarantine restrictions their players would face on their return journey. Scotland will play in their place

West Indies will host the 2022 Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, marking the first time the tournament has visited the Caribbean in its 14-edition history.

The 16-team tournament will run from January 14 to February 5 and utilise 10 venues across four countries. St Kitts & Nevis, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago will host the group stages, with the top two teams in each group advancing the Super League in Antigua & Barbuda. The bottom two teams will contest the Plate competition in Trinidad & Tobago.

The final on February 5 will be held at Antigua’s Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

Unfortunately, one team will be missing from the tournament with New Zealand withdrawing as a result of the mandatory quarantine restrictions their players would face on their return journey. Scotland have entered the tournament in their place and are in Group D alongside hosts West Indies, Australia and Sri Lanka.

England are in Group A with defending champions Bangladesh, Canada and the UAE while four-time champions India have been drawn against South Africa, Ireland and Uganda in Group B. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea complete the line-up in Group C.

^{The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium will host the final}

ICC head of events, Chris Tetley, said: "The ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup is such an exciting and special tournament, bringing together the future stars of the game and giving them an unrivalled experience of competing on the global stage. We are looking forward to the 2022 edition to see who emerges as the future stars."

Cricket West Indies president, Ricky Skerritt, added: "CWI is looking forward to hosting this important global U19 cricket event, which is just around the corner, in January. In partnership with host territorial boards, cricket clubs, and ministries of sports, we have been hard at work preparing for this event over the past several months. However, amid so many Covid-related challenges, it has not been easy to finalise the venues and to work out all the related logistics.

"At the same time, our U19 head coach, Floyd Reifer, and his coaching staff have been busy preparing our team for competition, using innovative methods to keep them active even while they were restricted from travel. West Indies has a proud under-19 cricket history, with several bright talents blossoming into international stars over the years. We, therefore, expect our current team of under-19 players to do us proud in the 2022 tournament.

"I am also confident that our visitors will experience the best of our world-famous Caribbean culture and hospitality in Antigua & Barbuda, Guyana, St. Kitts & Nevis, and Trinidad & Tobago."