USA qualify for U19 Men's Cricket World Cup
Credit: X@usacricket
Dubai: The United States team, led by wicketkeeper-batter Arjun Mahesh, has become the 16th and final side to secure a place in the U19 Men's Cricket World Cup, to be jointly hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia next year.
The team locked their spot in the global event with a game in hand by emphatically beating Canada, Bermuda and Argentina in the double round-robin Qualifier played in Rydal, Georgia.
USA set the tone with a 65-run win over Canada, followed by big victories against Bermuda and Argentina putting them in the driver's seat at the halfway stage of the competition.
Their bowlers then came up with some more dominating performances to beat Bermuda and Argentina in the return leg to garner 10 points, which was enough to seal them the World Cup berth.
Top-order batter Amrinder Singh Gill scored 199 runs in three innings, while the spin-bowling duo of Ansh Rai and Sahir Bhatia grabbed seven scalps each. USA will play their last game against Canada later on Saturday.
The top-10 teams from the 2024 edition in South Africa have secured automatic qualification for the 2026 event along with Full Member hosts Zimbabwe.
The remaining five spots were decided through regional qualifiers around the world.
The automatically qualified teams in the tournament are Zimbabwe, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa and the West Indies, while USA, Tanzania, Afghanistan, Japan and Scotland have come through regional qualifying competitions.