Internet Desk: The International Cricket Council today announced South Africa’s Raynard van Tonder as the captain of the Team of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup which ended in Tauranga on Saturday with India emerging triumphant by eight wickets over Australia to claim the title for the fourth time.
Van Tonder, who aggregated 348 runs in six matches including a highest score of 143 against Kenya, was selected to lead ahead of other captains for his better cricket acumen. South Africa went out of reckoning for the title with a three-wicket loss to Pakistan in the quarter-finals but finished fifth beating Bangladesh by eight wickets in a play-off, which saw Tonder knocking up an unbeaten 82.
The team has five players from India, which include the top three in the batting line-up – captain Prithvi Shaw (261 runs in the tournament), player of the final Manjot Kalra (252 runs) and player of the tournament Shubman Gill (372 runs). Left-arm spinner Anukul Roy (14 wickets) and fast bowler Kamlesh Nagarkoti (9 wickets) are the other Indians named in the team.
Apart from van Tonder, the other South Africa players making the team are wicket-keeper Wandile Makwetu and fast bowler Gerald Coetzee. Makwetu had 11 victims during the tournament besides some useful runs while fast bowler Gerald Coetzee finished with eight wickets.
New Zealand batsman Finn Allen was rewarded for a consistent run which saw him get 338 runs while Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi (12 wickets) and Afghanistan leg-spinner Qais Ahmad (14 wickets) are the ones in the playing eleven. Windies batsman Alick Athanaze was named the 12th man after finishing as the highest run-getter in the tournament with 418 runs, which included centuries against Sri Lanka and Kenya.
The Team of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup was selected by a five-person selection panel that comprised former Windies fast bowler Ian Bishop, former India women’s captain Anjum Chopra, former New Zealand captain Jeff Crowe, journalist Shashank Kishore and former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody.