Best players in ICC U19 World Cup 2012

By Adrian Meredith

VICTORIA, Australia (TheSportsNext) August 19, 2012: The ICC U19 World Cup 2012 has entered final stages with Australia already booking berth in the final of the tournament while India and New Zealand will battle it out in the second semi-final scheduled on Wednesday.

Adrian Meredith takes a look at the best young players who showcased their exuberance and cricketing skills in the ICC U19 World Cup 2012.

Quinton de Kock (South Africa)

Leads the run scoring with 226 runs from the 3 matches, at an average of 75.33 and a strike rate of 108.13 with a high score of 126. He is also the wicket keeper and has taken 7 catches! He has 12 first class matches under his belt already, and has a batting average of 63.00 with 3 centuries! He is bound to play for South Africa at some point in the near future. He may even end up being Mark Boucher's replacement!

Babar Azam (Pakistan)

Second on the run scoring with 182 runs at an average of 91.00 and a strike rate of 79.47 what makes it the most impressive is that he is only 17! In a tournament with players almost 20 years of age, he is 2 years younger than most and still has these impressive stats. He has already made his first class debut and while he only averages 26.50 in first class matches in one dayers he averages an impressive 57.78. His scoring rate is a bit slow but nonetheless the batting potential is huge. Could be very valuable in Pakistan's middle order - expect him to make his test debut in the near future.

Chad Bowes (South Africa)

Third on the run scoring with 179 runs at an average of 59.66 and a strike rate of 91.79, he has also made his first class debut, where he averages 30.80 - but averages an impressive 50.50 in one dayers. May not have quite done enough yet to get a call up to the South African national team but he wouldn't be far off and would be in the selectors' thoughts.

Anamal Haque (Bangladesh)

Fourth on the run scoring with 172 runs at an average of 57.33 and a strike rate of 77.13, the most impressive thing is that he scored a match winning 101 against Sri Lanka, which qualified Bangladesh for the quarter finals - and he also backed it up with 2 decent scores in the 30s in the other 2 matches. He also keeps wicket occasionally. In 19 first class matches he has an impressive average of 42.25. Sadly, however, his one day domestic form and, other than the world cup, his form at under 19 level, is less than impressive. It may be a risk to put him straight into the Bangladesh line up. But they still may consider it, given how few quality batsmen are going around.

Kurtis Patterson (Australia)

Kurtis Patterson scored 105 runs in his 2 matches at an average of 52.50 and a strike rate of 87.50. In both matches he played match winning innings - though they weren't the top score in either case. A truly impressive player who has shown that he is well and truly ready for the big time, scoring tough runs in the right circumstances, he looks set to make his full Australian debut this season or at worst next season.

Kamil Passi (India)

Kamil Passi took 8 wickets in 2 matches at an absurd average of 5.12 and an economy of 2.89. This is just absurd, though it was against Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe. He is a medium pacer and with India's recent struggles with bowling he may be the answer. While he is yet to make his first class debut, his recent Under 19 form has been impressive, taking 2/18, 6/23, 0/26, 3/34, 1/25, 0/25, 0/44, 1/32, 4/25 and 2/48 in his recent matches. He may not quite be ready for a straight up call to the Indian team but he would be in the selectors' thoughts.

Reece Topley (England)

His 8 wickets took 3 matches but were also at a crazy average of 7.12 and an economy of 2.19! If only he could get those kinds of stats in full internationals! He took 2/33 against Australia but the other 2 games were against lowly Ireland and Nepal. Nonetheless, he has already made his first class debut and his stats are very impressive, averaging 23.54 in first class, 22.14 in one dayers and 14.47 in T20s. As a left arm fast bowler he would be very valuable in the England line up and if they ever decide that they want a second front line bowler to go with James Anderson (noting that the likes of Bresnan and Broad are all-rounders, not front line bowlers) then Topley could be the answer to their problems. A very good player to have coming through the ranks.

Ashton Turner (Australia)

He has taken 7 wickets in his 3 matches at an impressive average of 10.00 and an economy of 4.15. As a spin bowler, he would be very much in the thoughts for Australia's selectors, who still haven't completely answered the spin problem. He is yet to make his first class debut but his returns of 0/12, 4/28, 3/30, 1/43, 5/47, 3/38, 0/31 and 0/42 suggest that he could soon be at least in the first class mix. He may be a little way off national selection but if he translates this success to international level, he will be very much in demand.

Sayed Shirzad (Afghanistan)

He leads the wicket taking with 9 wickets from his 3 matches at an average of 12.22 and an economy of 3.79. Of course, being from Afghanistan he won't be playing tests anytime soon but he just shows how impressive Afghanistan is becoming. While they missed out on a quarter final spot they weren't far behind and he will add to an already impressive Afghanistan line up when he moves into the senior team.

Jerome Jones (West Indies)

Jerome Jones has taken 7 wickets at an average of 11.14 and an economy of 2.60 but what makes his performance all the more impressive is that he is only 17 years of age, one of only a handful playing in this tournament who are so young. He is a left armer but is listed as medium pace, which could be a problem. He is yet to make his first class debut and while he has had decent returns outside of the world cup, they probably aren't impressive enough to force his way into the West Indian team. He could make his first class debut soon though.

Corné Dry (South Africa)

Corné Dry has taken 6 wickets in 2 matches at an average of 8.33 and an economy of 3.33, including 4/16 against Sri Lanka and 2/34 against Bangladesh. Has made his first class debut and seems to take wickets in every single match, varying between 1 or 2 and a huge bundle. He is listed as right arm medium fast and can't be far off a national call up.

Gurinder Sandhu (Australia)

Gurinder Sandhu has taken 6 wickets at an average of 14.33 and an economy of 3.24, and has been a consistent performer at Under 19 level before this tournament as well. He is yet to make his first class debut but this seems likely to occur soon after this tournament. It may be a while before he makes his Australian debut and as a right arm fast bowler there is a bit of a queue of others in the way but nonetheless there is a chance in the future that he may be the first Indian born player to play for the Australian senior cricket team - he is already the first to represent them at under 19 level.

Theunis de Bruyn (South Africa)

This all rounder has scored 132 runs at an average of 44.00 and strike rate of 103.93 while also taking 5 wickets at an average of 8.20 and an economy of 5.12. He is yet to make his first class debut but with performances like these it is bound to happen soon. Wow South Africa sure have a lot of talent coming through!

Ross McLean (Scotland)

Ross McLean has scored 162 runs at an average of 54.00 and strike rate of 61.36, which included 59 against Pakistan and 36 against New Zealand. He also bowls occasionally, and has taken 0/18, 0/16, 2/20, 1/21, 3/12, 0/5 and 3/9 recently. He is unlikely to play test cricket for Scotland but of course he has the option of switching over to England fairly easily if he so desires. At 18 years of age he is a good prospect, though his strike rate is a little slow.

Freddie Coleman (Scotland)

Freddie Coleman has scored 134 runs at an average of 44.66 and strike rate of 73.62. He has made his first class debut too, having played 2 matches and has a first class average of 65.00. He is an overage player, well over 20 years of age, almost 21, but nonetheless looks a good prospect, and perhaps could switch over to England if he wants to play in the big leagues.

Lahiru Madushanka (Sri Lanka)

Lahiru Madushanka has scored 112 runs at an average of 37.33 and strike rate of 101.81 and has also taken 5 wickets in the tournament at an average of 13.80 and economy of 4.05. He is a consistent performer, both with bat and ball, and clearly is a big striker to boot, with one of the highest strike rates of the tournament. Unfortunately, he didn't do enough to get Sri Lanka to the quarter final stage.

Sunil Ambris (West Indies)

Sunil Ambris has scored 95 runs at an average of 31.66 and strike rate of 186.27, an unbelievable strike rate. He also keeps wicket and has taken 9 catches this tournament. Recently he has scores of 0, 91, 4, 103, 40, 41, 50, 17 and 25. Unfortunately his 2 biggest scores were 91 against Papua New Guinea and 103 against Namibia. He did manage 40 and 50 against Australia though. He could be a good prospect for West Indies into the future.

That's it (for now). If you can think of another player who you have been impressed with at the Under 19 World Cup, that I haven't mentioned, then please mention them in a comment. The above seem to be, stats-wise at least, the best of the bunch.