Dubai, Feb 2 (IANS): A raft of up-and-coming cricketers, eager to announce their arrival, will set their sights on some ICC U-19 World Cup records, the 10th edition of which will be staged in the United Arab Emirates from Feb 14 to March 1.
This will be a fantastic opportunity for budding cricketers to prove themselves by entering the history books and helping their teams do so.
The record for most titles is jointly held by Australia and India with three each. India won in 2000, 2008 and 2012 while Australia were the champions in 1988, 2002 and 2010. Pakistan are the only nation to have won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2006 while England are the only other team to have won the competition (1998). So, for all other sides in the fray, this will be an opportunity to snare a historic first crown.
Australia are the most successful team in the competition with a win percentage of 79.66. They were one of the teams to beat in nine editions. The team from Down Under also holds the record for the most World Cup matches played (61) followed by India and the West Indies (59 each), England and Pakistan (57 each) and Sri Lanka (56).
The event, since its inception in 1988, has seen quite a few big totals of more than 350 in 50 overs bowled. The highest total since 2004, though, has been South Africa's 359/6 versus Namibia in Brisbane in the last edition. No other total, since 2004, figures in the list of the 10 highest totals.
Batsmen looking to become the most prolific in the tournament's history, however, face a tall order in getting past the tally of Ireland's Eoin Morgan. He went on to replicate his efforts with England at the senior level, starring in their 2010 World Twenty20 title triumph. Morgan is at the top of the pile in the list of the tournament's 10 highest run-scorers with 606 runs in 13 matches at an average of 50.5.
India's Shikhar Dhawan holds the record for the most runs scored in a single edition (505 in 2004) and the highest average (84.16) in a single edition for those that have scored a minimum of 500 runs. With flat pitches expected for this edition, quite a few stroke-players should set their sights on those marks.
With bowlers seemingly having more of an upper hand in the last four editions than they did in the five before, it comes as no surprise that seven of the 10 highest wicket-takers plied their trade between 2006 and 2012 with Australia's Moises Henriques leading the field with 27 scalps in 13 matches.