After a rain-disrupted second day of the competition, the World Cup returned with a vengeance with two games containing contrasting narratives
If you're looking for a genuine celebration of cricket's global footprint, this Under-19 World Cup is the place to be.
Nigeria are here for the first time. So to are Japan, who earned their maiden point on day two thanks to a bout of rain. Canada, United Arab Emirates and Scotland complete the non-full member nations. Zimbabwe are back on the world stage. There is a story everywhere you turn.
While the experience will undoubtedly be a great education for some of these players, exposed to this level of cricket for the very first time, there is also an unfortunate byproduct of their maiden outings.
The group stage will inevitably be littered with some one-sided results. That is not a criticism of the tournament, nor is it meant to devalue and ridicule some of the lesser nations. Sometimes you have to go back to go forward.
We saw the first of those potential demolitions as Scotland battled to a seven-wicket defeat to Pakistan, who've won this competition on two previous occasions. Wahab Riaz, Abid Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed have used victories as a platform ahead of earning senior recognition.
Tahir Hussain and Mohammad Wasim would be the individuals to make their own impression this time around. The pace duo shared eight Scotland wickets, as 24 for 2 became 75 all out.
Two of Hussain's breakthroughs came in the first over. Only two Scotland batsman got into double figures, four of them failed to score at all. And there was a dreaded golden duck to boot.
Pakistan lost two early wickets but quickly applied themselves, chasing the target in 70 balls. Not broadcast to the wider world, perhaps on this occasion, that was for the best.
These kind of results will be repeated, assuming the weather holds. But it couldn't be more irrelevant. The sport has opened itself up to new markets. Proof that it works is all it needs.
ICC UNDER-19 CRICKET WORLD CUP 2020: All you need to know
As defending champions and with the biggest pool of players available of any competing nation, India are the overwhelming favourites to scoop a fifth title in South Africa.
Priyam Garg is bidding to join Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand and Prithvi Shaw in captaining the country to victory. As that list suggests, lifting the trophy is no guarantee that the future will be veiled in international honours.
Garg is one of five players in the India group to have an Indian Premier League contract for the 2020 edition. If there was ever an indication that this team are a level above their opponents, this is it.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravi Bishnoi, Akash Singh and Kartik Tyagi are the others who will get the opportunity to test themselves in the most intense limited-overs competition on the planet, against some of the very best in the senior game.
While it is true that many players in the tournament do already have first-class and List A honours, a stage such as the IPL is a level above. Being picked up in the auction is no guarantee of future success, of course, but financially at least it sets a player up for the immediate future and gives them an insight into the riches possibly on offer.
What role then does an Under-19 World Cup have? It is a format littered with success stories, from Chris Gayle to Mustaq Ahmed, from Graeme Smith to Shikhar Dhawan. Stars of the future emerging from this competition is not going to change.
But the world is changing. More cricket is played nowadays than ever before. Opportunities to test yourself at a high level are more available than ever. The reality is this Under-19 World Cup is not the platform it once was.
In boxing, once you turn professional there is no way back to the amateur ranks. Bar a narrow route into the Olympic Games, that it is for your career as a fledgeling fighter.
Perhaps cricket should adopt a similar mantra. India's IPL quintet are not going to learn more about their game in South Africa than in among some of the world's greatest on home soil. And maybe they shouldn't be allowed to.
There an argument that once players get to a certain level, these kind of development competitions are unnecessary and create a two-tier system: the haves and the have-nots.
It comes down to what is more important for the major nations: winning the competition or bringing through the next generation. Both is, of course, the ideal scenario but some sides arrive here with the horse having already bolted.
Scotland are among the minnows in South Africa
It is great to see the coverage of this Under-19 World Cup. In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports are showing 16 of the tournament's 48 games. It is a unique opportunity for many of these players to be showcased to the wider world.
During the broadcast, headed by the ICC, highlights from previous editions and the star names which have adorned them are shown. It is a wonderful chance to look back on what this competition has given the global game.
The first inception of this event came in 1988, courtesy of the McDonalds Bicentennial Youth World Cup. Twitter would have a field day.
Among those players to feature was Sanath Jayasuriya, whose performances during that tournament were profiled as his native Sri Lanka took on India.
As it happens, the allrounder didn't have a particularly fine tournament. He scored 70 runs and took seven wickets. The Sri Lankans failed to reach the semi-finals and went home from Australia early. But it was still a big moment in his formative years.
What is curious is why, in the current climate, Jayasuriya was celebrated at all. He is into the second year of his two-year ban for corruption, which expires in October 2020.
This competition is by youngsters, for youngsters. It not only offers hope for the incumbents but for those watching. In the modern age, what you can't see, you can't dream of.
So should the ICC, regardless of what has gone before, be using Jayasuriya to promote one of their products? They were at pains to confirm that he would not be indulged him when he rocked up at a Cricket World Cup match with a ticket, yet marketing seemingly reigns supreme.
They could certainly have chosen better.
Sanath Jayasuriya appeared in the first Youth World Cup
Such is Sri Lanka's desperation to find a replacement for Lasith Malinga, they could yet call on his services for the T20 World Cup later this year.
If you need any convincing the 36-year-old can still do it, then the 50-over World Cup and last year's IPL serves as good memories of his majesty.
If indeed Sri Lanka do want a replacement for the seamer, they could do a lot worse than Matheesha Pathirana, whose action is right out of Malinga's copybook.
He first came to the attention of the wider world last year, when he took 6-7 while representing Trinity College Kandy against St Servatius College in Singer U19 Division One.
“Lasith Malinga is my favourite cricketer and I look up to him for inspiration,” he said after the haul. He has even had a coaching session with the great man. And you can't half tell.
The trot to the crease is familiar, the arm slips back like a slingshot, the ball shoots out like a bazooka. Granted, his lengths are not perfect and India ensure he is wicketless for 49 from eight overs. But you get the gist.
We have all tried to recreate the ball of the century or reverse sweep the leather off a delivery, in the back garden or the street. But Pathirana is living the dream in the middle, channelling white-ball cricket's most iconic technique for a living.
You love to see it.
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