Australia U-19 coach Ryan Harris confident about his side

The 12th edition of the Under-19 World Cup is under its way in New Zealand. The Under-19 World Cup provides youngsters with a wonderful opportunity to put up their skills on display. Moreover, young cricketers from around the world would be eager to showcase their talent of such a massive stage. It will help them get the right kind of exposure to the international format and we have already seen many greats emerge from the U-19 level.

The tournament inaugurated with four matches being played on the opening day. More teams are waiting to make a mark early in the tournament. The Australian campaign kicks off tomorrow with a crucial encounter against India U-19 team.

Australia U-19s preparation for the mega event

Australian U-19 coach, Ryan Harris is very confident about his side doing well in the tournament. He said that the team is well prepared and has good match practice. He felt that the tournament being in New Zealand could be an added advantage. The team had a good practice game against Sri Lanka but the other game against South Africa has been washed-out due to rain. He wants the team to show want they have got and entertain everyone with the way they play.

Harris believes that the depth in the squad is one of their biggest strengths. Six players in the team have played List-A cricket in Australia. The team has got a good balance with some quality batters, quicks and the spinners. Harris has said “We’ve got guys like leg-spinner Lloyd Pope who has taken plenty of wickets at underage level, Jack Edwards who scored a big hundred in our recent Under 19 National Championships final and Jason Sangha, the captain, who made a big hundred against England and has scored a lot of runs in grade cricket.”

The biggest challenge for Australia is against the powerhouse India who look solid on paper. Also, Harris has said that “First and foremost, we want to win our group games – that’s one of the main things – but we want to make sure these guys are learning too. Ultimately winning is what we want to do, but we’ve got to make sure we keep improving and learning about the game and all that goes with it, playing against good players, playing in tournament-play and being away from home.”