Battle of the Americas

The final pathway event on the road to Sri Lanka 2024 begins on Friday, as four teams ready themselves for a week of fierce competition in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Americas Qualifier.

Toronto, Canada is the stage for the drama, and the hosts, plus Argentina, Bermuda and the USA aim to secure the 16^th and final qualification spot in the celebrated global showpiece event – the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024, where the best young cricketers on the planet will feature.

Between 11 and 18 August, 12 matches are set to take place across two historic venues in the city, the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club – one of the oldest cricket clubs in the country dating back to 1827, and the Maple Leaf Cricket Club.

The hosts have a strong record at this event, having emerged victorious in each of the past five U19 Qualifier tournaments, and they will be hoping to start well once more in their opening match against Argentina, while in the other fixture that day, USA take on Bermuda.

With only one spot up for grabs, the round-robin format will see the table-topping side secure passage through to the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, which returns to Sri Lanka for the first time since 2006.

Awaiting the victors will be a spot alongside other regional winners in the pathway; Nepal (Asia), New Zealand (EAP), Namibia (Africa), and the winners of the Europe Qualifier, which concludes on Saturday.

These teams will compete alongside 11 automatically qualified nations by virtue of being the best-placed Full Member nations at the previous event in 2022, including defending champions India.

Fara Gorsi, Regional Development Manager for the Americas expressed her excitement at the start of the Americas Qualifier, “The Americas pathway has historically seen many young players develop into fine elite athletes through highly competitive games across the region, from junior competitions to the senior international stage.

“Canada have a strong history of performing well at this event, having progressed as U19 champions of the region throughout the past decade. There is a lot of exciting young talent on show at the event, and combined with the spirit of Argentina, Bermuda and the USA and the high stakes of a World Cup spot, the event is sure to create plenty of drama.

“We would like to extend our thanks to our hosts Cricket Canada, who have done a tremendous job in organizing pre-competition games and as the hosts for the tournament.”

Ingleton Liburd, General Manager of Cricket Canada, added, “I am thrilled that ICC has chosen Canada to host the event at a time when cricket is growing in popularity throughout the country. We welcome the young future stars of the Americas region to display their talent and compete for a spot in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup in 2024.

“We would like to wish the participating teams Argentina, Bermuda, Canada & USA all the absolute best for what we expect to be an incredible event.”

Fans can follow the action via live-scoring updates on the Cricket Canada website.

Match Schedule

All matches are scheduled to begin at 10:30am local time (EDT – Eastern Daylight Time)

ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 Qualification Structure

16 teams will be competing at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Sri Lanka 2024 over 41 matches. 11 teams have automatically qualified for the event as the best-placed Full Member nations from the previous event in 2022. These are: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.

The remaining five spots are determined through regional qualification pathways, with one team from each region securing a place at the event.

Americas and EAP each host one qualifying event in 2023, with the winner of each event sealing a spot at the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Sri Lanka 2024.

The Africa, Asia and Europe regions each have a two-step qualification structure. These regions hosted Division 2 Qualifiers in 2022 to determine the teams that will compete in the second and final qualifying event, the Regional Qualifier, with events taking place in 2023.

Only the winning teams from the Regional Qualifiers will qualify to compete at the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Sri Lanka 2024.

Asia, EAP and Africa Qualifiers have already been held this year, with Nepal, New Zealand and Namibia winning respectively, thereby securing their place at the U19CWC. The Europe Qualifier is underway and set to conclude on 12 August.