The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka, but its hosting was pulled in November 2023 after Sri Lanka Cricket was suspended by the ICC. In the final, Australia defeated India by 79 runs to win their fourth Under-19 Cricket World Cup title.[2]
The top eleven teams from the previous tournament qualified automatically, along with the five winners of regional qualification tournaments.
In November 2023, Sri Lanka was suspended by the ICC due to government interference in the country's cricket board; while Sri Lanka lost its rights to host the men's U-19 World Cup as a result,[3] it did not affect the ability for Sri Lanka to play international matches.[4] The suspension was lifted on 28 January 2024.[4]
On 10 January 2024, the ICC appointed the match officials for the tournament. Along with the sixteen umpires, Graeme Labrooy, Narayanan Kutty, Shaid Wadvalla and Wayne Noon were named as the match referees.[5]
Each team selected a squad of fifteen players for the tournament, excluding reserves, with England being the first team to name their squad.[6]
In January 2024, a week before the start of the tournament, Cricket South Africa removed David Teeger from the captaincy while retaining him in the World Cup squad.[7] In a statement, CSA explained that "We have been advised that protests related to the war in Gaza can be anticipated at the venues for the tournament. We have also been advised that they are likely to focus on the position of the SA Under-19 captain, David Teeger, and that there is a risk that they could result in conflict or even violence, including between rival groups of protestors. CSA has a primary duty to safeguard the interests and safety of all those involved in the World Cup and must accordingly respect the expert advice of those responsible for the safety of participants and spectators. In all the circumstances, CSA has decided that David should be relieved of the captaincy for the tournament. This is in the best interests of all the players, the SA U19 team and David himself."[8]
Format
16 teams were divided into four groups, namely Group A, B, C, D. The top three teams from each group advanced to the Super Six stage. The fourth-placed teams in Group A and D faced each other while the fourth-placed teams in Group B and C faced each other in the placement stage.
In the super-six stage top three teams from Group A and D were combined in a group while top three teams from Group B and C combined in another group. Each team carried forward the number of points, wins, NRR they have earned against their fellow super-six qualifying teams.
Each team played two matches in the super-six stage against the opponent from the corresponding group that finished in a different group stage position (i.e. the A1 team played only D2 and D3 in the super-six. Similarly, A2 played only D1 and D3 and so forth).
The top two teams from each group in the super-six stage qualified for the semi-finals.[9]
Warm-up matches
Warm-up fixtures were announced on 11 December by ICC.[10]
Unlike other editions, no placement matches were played. So, the author of the above table chose to base it on the number of wins of each team, rather than ICC decisions or precedent. Therefore, e.g. Sri Lanka who came 5th in their Super6 group have been placed ahead of Ireland, who came 4th in theirs, despite placing in the Super6 groups being the determinant for further qualification to the knockout stage, and the 2026 tournament.
Team of the tournament
On 12 February 2024, the ICC announced the team of the tournament.[12]
