Cricket's youth World Cup, where Lara, Kohli and Gayle first stood out
The first youth World Cup in 1988 was a one-off tied to Australia's bicentenary, and nobody staged another for a decade. Its roster reads like a future hall of fame: Brian Lara, Mike Atherton, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sanath Jayasuriya. Since 1998 the under-19 event has run every two years, and India have lifted it six times.
That opening tournament, sponsored by McDonald's and played across South Australia and Victoria, featured the seven Test nations plus an Associates side. Australia beat Pakistan by five wickets in the final behind an unbeaten century from Brett Williams, who topped the run charts with 471. India, after beating England first up, lost four heavy matches and went home early. Besides Lara and company, Nasser Hussain and Chris Cairns also took part.
The relaunch in South Africa ten years later brought sixteen teams and a scandal: West Indies turned up with seven players who were over the age limit and missed the main stage. England, nearly eliminated, crushed Australia at Newlands to sneak through and then won the final on a Stephen Peters hundred. The leading scorer that year was a young Chris Gayle, with 364 runs.
Later editions produced their own stories. At the fourth edition, in New Zealand, Australia opened by beating Kenya by 430 runs and were never troubled, with captain Cameron White making 423. Two years later in Bangladesh, more than 350,000 people watched the matches, and Pakistan beat West Indies in the final before a crowd of 30,000; holders Australia were skittled for 73 by Zimbabwe. At the following event, at the Premadasa Stadium, Pakistan defended the title after being dismissed for 109, because their bowlers had India reeling at 9 for 6.
Malaysia became the first Associate nation to host, in 2008, and India won there under a captain called Virat Kohli, defending just 159 and prevailing by 12 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method. Australia have four titles, Pakistan two, and England, South Africa, Bangladesh and West Indies one each. New Zealand and Sri Lanka have reached finals without winning. India's most recent crown came in 2026, beating England by 100 runs.
Source: Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup
