All about the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup

New Delhi:

The ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup is an international cricket tournament contested by national under-19 teams. The first one was staged in Australia in 1988, and has been held every two years since 1998.

1988: The inaugural world cup was held in South Australia and Victoria. Teams from the seven Test-playing nations, and an ICC Associates XI, competed in a round-robin format. Australia beat Pakistan in the final.

Australia's Brett Williams was the leading run-scorer, with 471 runs at an average of 52.33. Wayne Holdsworth from Australia and Mushtaq Ahmed were the leading wicket-takers, with 19 wickets at averages of 12.52 and 16.21 respectively.

1998: The event was relaunched in South Africa as a biennial tournament. It included teams from the nine Test-playing nations, as well as Bangladesh, Kenya, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Namibia and Papua New Guinea. England beat New Zealand in the final.

West Indian Chris Gayle was the tournament's top scorer, with 364 runs at an average of 72.80. West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan and Zimbabwean Mluleki Nkala were the top wicket-takers, with 16 wickets at 10.81 and 13.06 respectively.

2000: The tournament was held in Sri Lanka. Contesting nations included the nine Test-playing nations, as well as Bangladesh, Kenya, Ireland, Namibia, Holland, Nepal and the Americas. India defeated Sri Lanka in the final.

South Africa's Graeme Smith was the tournament's leading scorer, with 348 runs at an average of 87.00. Pakistan's Zahid Saeed was the leading wicket-taker, with 15 wickets at 7.60. India's Yuvraj Singh was named Man of the Series.

2002: The tournament was held in New Zealand. Participating nations included Canada, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Scotland, besides the ten Test-playing nations. Australia defeated South Africa in the final.

Australian Cameron White was the tournament's leading run-scorer, with 423 runs at an average of 70.50. Australian Xavier Doherty was the top wicket-taker, with 16 wickets at 9.50. Zimbabwe's Tatenda Taibu was named Man of the Tournament.

2004: The tournament was held in Bangladesh. Canada, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Scotland and Uganda took part besides the ten Test-playing nations. Pakistan defeated the West Indies in the final. India's Shikhar Dhawan who was the tournament's leading scorer with 505 runs at an average of 84.16, was named Man of the Tournament. Bangladeshi Enamul Haque was the leading wicket-taker, with 22 wickets at 10.18.

2006: The 2006 U-19 World Cup was held in Sri Lanka in February. Pakistan won the tournament. Cheteshwar Pujara of India was named the Man of the Tournament. Pujara finished as the leading run-scorer with 349 runs, at an average of 116.33. Moises Henriques of Australia finished as the leading wicket-taker, with 16 wickets at an average of 10.62.

2008: The 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup was held in Malaysia from February 17 to March 2, 2008. A total of 16 teams participated. India won the tournament in a sensational fashion beating South Africa by 12 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method.