Darwin and Palmerston to host the East Asia Pacific Under 19 World Cup qualifiers in June
International underage cricket is set to return to the Top End for the first time in a decade. See the full schedule here.
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Underage international cricket is set to return to the Top End for the first time in a decade.
The East Asia Pacific Under 19 World Cup qualifiers will be held in Darwin and “Palmerston regions” in June (12-21), with Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Vanuatu taking part, NT Cricket has confirmed.
The winner of the event will gain direct qualification into the 16-team 2024 World Cup to be held in Sri Lanka.
Eleven teams, including Australia, England, India and Pakistan, have already qualified for the event.
Darwin hosted an Under 19 international series in June, 2013 between Australia, India and New Zealand which also included friendly matches with PNG.
Australian cricketers Ben McDermott, Jake Doran, Matthew Kelly and Matt Short played in Darwin and have gone on to have success at state and Big Bash League level.
NT Cricket chief executive officer Gavin Dovey said the event would strengthen Darwin’s place in the global cricketing calendar.
“Cricket is surging in popularity across the Asia-Pacific region so there will be some serious talent on show for our cricket-loving community to watch,” Dovey said.
“We are thrilled the ICC has chosen Darwin to host these important World Cup qualifiers.
“It’s an exciting first step in international cricket returning to the Northern Territory.”
Full fixture
(Game times and locations are to be announced)
June 12
New Zealand v Japan
Indonesia v Vanuatu
PNG v Fiji
June 13
Vanuatu v New Zealand
Fiji v Indonesia
Samoa v PNG
June 15
Samoa v New Zealand
Fiji v Japan
PNG v Indonesia
June 16
Indonesia v Samoa
Japan v Vanuatu
New Zealand v Fiji
June 18
Vanuatu v Fiji
Japan v Samoa
New Zealand v PNG
June 19
Indonesia v New Zealand
Samoa v Vanuatu
PNG v Japan
June 21
Vanuatu v PNG
Fijij v Samoa
Japan v Indonesia
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