Australia on Thursday (December 11) announced its 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026. This much-awaited tournament is to be played in Namibia and Zimbabwe from 15 January to 6 February.
The highlight of the Australia team is the inclusion of two players of Indian heritage – Aryan Sharma and John James. The team also includes two Sri Lankan natives (Naden Coore and Nitish Samuel) and one Chinese native (Alex Lee Young).
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Oliver Peak will lead Australia in the tournament as they look to defend their title. On the other hand, Tim Nielsen will lead the coaching staff and will have assistant coaches like Luke Butterworth and Travis Dean.
“We are pleased to announce a strong and well-balanced squad for the ICC Under-19 World Cup. Our focus has been on selecting players with complementary skill sets to maximize the chances of success in the tournament. The players named have impressed with their performances in the U19 series against India in September and the recent National U19 Championships in Perth.” Nielsen said.
“This is an exciting group, with some players already experiencing the senior training environment, while others are rapidly progressing through our pathway. The World Cup is a great opportunity for these young cricketers to showcase their talents and test themselves against the best in the world.” He added.
Australia in ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026:
Australia have been placed in Group C along with Ireland, Japan and Sri Lanka for the upcoming edition of the World Cup. Before the main event begins, Australia will also play some practice matches, scheduled from 9 to 14 January.
They begin their campaign against Ireland on January 16 before facing Japan and Sri Lanka. The top three teams from each group will advance to the next round.
Introducing our squad for the 2026 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in January pic.twitter.com/73JaQpbYDZ
– Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) 10 December 2025
Talking about the World Cup, 16 teams will participate in the tournament. The teams are divided into four groups of four teams each. With 12 teams advancing to the next round, they will be divided into two groups of six each. This will be followed by two semi-finals and a final.
Australia squad for ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026:
Oliver Peak, Casey Barton, Naden Coore, Jayden Draper, Ben Gordon, Steven Hogan, Thomas Hogan, John James, Charles Latchmund, Will Malazczuk, Nitish Samuel, Hayden Schiller, Aryan Sharma, William Taylor, Alex Lee Young
