The New Zealand men’s Under-19 squad for the World Cup, starting on January 19 in South Africa, includes familiar names like Zac Cumming, Matt Rowe, and Tom Jones, who is the grandson of former captain Jeremy Coney. Eleven members of the squad that won the ICC East Asia Pacific qualifiers in June have been retained for the upcoming tournament. The 16 teams in the Under-19 World Cup will be divided into pools of four before the Super Six phase, with New Zealand facing Afghanistan, Nepal, and Pakistan in their opening match on January 21. Coach Jonny Bassett-Graham sees this tournament as an opportunity for players to test themselves against the best in the world in their age group. Unfortunately, Canterbury allrounder Cam Paul is ruled out with a shoulder injury. The squad departs for South Africa on January 11. The squad includes Oscar Jackson (capt, bat), Mason Clarke (pace), Sam Clode (wk), Zac Cumming (spin/bat), Rahman Hekmat (spin), Tom Jones (bat), James Nelson (bat), Snehith Reddy (bat/spin), Matt Rowe (pace), Ewald Schreuder (pace), Lachlan Stackpole (bat), Oliver Tewatiya (bat/spin), Alex Thompson (wk), Ryan Tsourgas (pace), Luke Watson (bat). Reserves: Ben Breitmeyer (pace), Nick Brown (wk), Henry Christie (bat), Robbie Foulkes (bat), Josh Oliver (pace/bat), Amogh Paranjpe (pace)
