The 2024 ICC men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup will be played between in January and February next year. Here is all you need to know about the complicated new format of the tournament.

The 2024 men’s U19 World Cup was originally supposed to be held in Sri Lanka. Following the suspension of the Sri Lankan board by the ICC during the 2023 World Cup, Sri Lanka lost the hosting rights of the event and South Africa was chosen as the alternate venue.

ICC men’s U19 World Cup 2024: How many teams will participate?

The Under-19 World Cup will see 16 teams fight it out for the trophy. India are the defending champions, having won the 2022 edition under the leadership of Yash Dhull. They will be led by Uday Saharan this time and will hope to keep the crown and extend their lead as the most successful team in the history of the competition.

The 16 teams are divided into four groups of four each. They are:

Group A: India, Bangladesh, Ireland, USA
Group B: England, South Africa, West Indies, Scotland
Group C: Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Namibia
Group D: Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand, Nepal

ICC men’s Under-19 World Cup 2024 format

The first round will see each team play three games in a single round-robin format. The top three teams from each group will then qualify for the Super Six stage.

Qualifying teams from Group A and Group D will be placed in one group, while those from Group B and Group C will be placed in another.

Each qualifying team will carry over their points, number of wins, and net run rate that they have earned against the other two teams that qualified for the Super Six from their group.

In the Super Six stage, every team will play two games. The teams each side plays in the Super Six will be decided based on two criteria: the opponent should not have qualified from the same group in the first round, and the qualifying position of the opponent should be different than that of the team.

For example, in the Super Six group comprised of teams from Group B and Group C, the team which finished first in Group B will face the teams that finished second and third in Group C, and so on.

Meanwhile, the teams which finished fourth in Group A and Group D will meet in a placement clash, and so will the fourth-placed teams in Group B and Group C.

Finally, the top two teams from both the Super Six groups, Group AD comprised of teams from Groups A and D, and Group BC comprised of teams from Groups B and C, will qualify for the semi-finals, with the final to be played on February 11 in Benoni.

ICC men’s U19 World Cup 2024: How many matches will be played in all?

The first round will see six matches played in each group, amounting to 24 matches in all. The Super Six stage will have six matches per group, amounting to 12 matches. There will be two additional placement matches for the teams that get eliminated in the first round, and three play offs in the form of semi-finals and final, totalling to 41 matches across 24 days.

You can find the complete schedule of the men’s 2024 Under-19 World Cup here.

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