U19 WC 2022 | Cooper Connolly picked in Australia squad for second successive World Cup
Australia have announced a 15-member squad for the Under-19 World Cup to be held in January next year and Cooper Connolly has been named in the team for his second World Cup. West Indies will host their first U-19 World Cup starting from January 14 to February 5 and will include 48 matches.
The Under-19 World Cup 2022 is scheduled to start from January 14 in the Caribbean, who will host their first U-19 World Cup. 16 teams will be participating in the tournament and Australia are grouped together with West Indies, Sri Lanka and Scotland. Australia will play the pool matches against these three opponents before the tournament splits into two groups of eight for the Super League and Plate finals series.
Australia have named their squad for the tournament and Cooper Connolly has been named in the team for his second World Cup. The squad was finalized based on trial matches at a training camp in Adelaide. Also, NSW fast bowler Jack Nisbett, Tasmania all-rounder Nivethan Radhakrishnan and Queensland allrounder Jackson Sinfield are some of the experienced players in domestic cricket included in the squad. Radhakrishnan is an ambidextrous spinner and was also with Delhi Capitals as a net bowler in the India leg of IPL 2021. Harkirat Bajwa will tour with the team as an underage player and will also be eligible for selection in the 2024 tournament.
Australia head coach Anthony Clark said that the players in the squad have produced a variety of strong performances across domestic competitions.
"Our squad includes players of all disciplines with experience in domestic cricket environments, and many have produced eye-catching performances across a variety of strong competitions this season. The Under-19 World Cup provides players with an exceptional development opportunity and we look forward to seeing them represent their country with distinction,” Clarke stated, reported Cricbuzz.
Graham Manou, Cricket Australia's Head of National Development, said that the team selection was a challenging process.
"It was a challenging selection process, but we are confident in our system and have closely monitored the development of our U19 players over the past two years. From a talent ID perspective, we've had access to world-leading technology that has allowed broader and more in-depth conversations between the coaches and players,” he explained.
"Inevitably, there were difficult selection decisions, but we will continue to support and monitor the development of all players in our pathway systems."
The squad will have a training camp in Melbourne before the tournament starts from December 28.
Squad:
Harkirat Bajwa, Aidan Cahill, Cooper Connolly, Joshua Garner, Isaac Higgins, Campbell Kellaway, Corey Miller, Jack Nisbet, Nivethan Radhakrishnan, William Salzmann, Lachlan Shaw, Jackson Sinfield, Tobias Snell, Tom Whitney, Teague Wyllie
Reserves
Liam Blackford, Liam Doddrell, Joel Davies, Sam Rahaley, Aubrey Stockdale