Young standouts poised to take on the cricket world

These 10 players from the Under 19 World Cup in the UAE could find themselves playing a big role for their senior sides at the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)

Few things in cricket set the pulse racing so much as a fast bowler in full flow.

"Congrats South Africa in Rabada you have unearthed another outstanding quick bowler", tweeted Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, after Rabada destroyed Australia with six wickets in the semi-final.

And Vaughan was watching on TV. In the flesh, Rabada’s spell – on an easy-paced wicket against batsmen who should be used to fast bowling – was ferocious.

South African fans are right to feel excited. The Johannesburg-born quick was pushing 150kph and he is still only 18. Imagine what he will do when he is all grown up.

He generates searing pace from an inconspicuous run up and his method is a simple one. He shuffles to the wicket and goes “whang”, as Jeff Thomson, the former Australian fast bowler of similarly natural haste, might have put it.

He is blessed with a wide wingspan, which goes some way to explaining his pace. The rawness of his method, though, will need some nurturing between here and success at senior level.

The greater workload for bowlers in the first-class game means he will need careful managing if he is to avoid stress injuries.

Although fast bowlers are not a new thing in South Africa, they may have found the next ace from the Mike Proctor, Allan Donald, Dale Steyn bloodline.

• The next Allan Donald

Imam-ul-Haq (Pakistan)

This tournament involved plenty of players carrying the weight of a famous name.

Australia’s Ben McDermott is the son of the former Test bowler Craig. Tagenarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies batsman, calls Shivnarine dad, while Hashen Ramanayake is following the path previously trodden by father Champaka for Sri Lanka.

Each of them wears the encumbrance well – judged on their performances here – but none so strikingly as Imam-ul-Haq, the nephew of the great Pakistan batsman Inzamam.

The studious left-hander had no sort of form leading in to the World Cup. Rather than shying away, though, he attempted to resolve the lack of runs by asking the management to be promoted up the order.

It was a masterstroke. He scored a hundred in pool play against Scotland and, going in to the final, is Pakistan’s leading run-scorer – trumping even his vaunted opening partner Sami Aslam in the process.

Uncle Inzi, who telephoned his nephew before the semi-final against England to wish him luck, would be proud.

“I always used to look at my chachu [uncle] when he was playing international cricket on the TV, but he didn’t necessarily inspire me to think I could be a player,” Imam said.

“I didn’t think I could be an international cricketer. I was very busy in my studies, I was doing my O-Levels, I had a lot of burdens. Then things suddenly changed in my life. It has been a good change, I would say.”

• The next Zaheer Abbas

Will Rhodes (England)

Despite the senior side’s Ashes whitewash, this winter has not been exclusively bleak for England, thanks to the optimism provided by their age-group side.

They reached the semi-finals and had a rare appearance in a final within their grasp before a late fielding capitulation against Pakistan. Along the way they unearthed some gems, such as Ben Duckett with the bat and Matthew Fisher, a 16-year-old fast bowler of rare promise.

Most consistently impressive, though, was their captain, Will Rhodes. A tall all-rounder, he played a crucial knock to repair early damage against Pakistan.

Afterwards, he said he had owed his side a performance, having made a string of starts without making a real contribution of substance.

The fact he can already hit 130kph with the ball, as well as his decision-making ability as captain, mark him out as a big hope for English cricket.

“I come from a small village and a small state school,” the Yorkshireman said. “I started playing cricket when I was really young and where I come from it is quite hard to get noticed, being so far away from the county cricket ground in Yorkshire.

“To get into the set-up itself was difficult, but once I was in I just continued to work hard and make sure I became the player I am today so I could perform on these sorts of stages.”

• The next Ben Stokes

Sami Aslam (Pakistan)

There may be no such thing as a sure thing, but Sami Aslam is probably about as close as it gets. More runs and more centuries in youth one-day internationals than anyone, it seems just a matter of time before he graduates to an opening slot in the Pakistan senior side. That can be a precarious occupation, but he is capable of showing more stickability than any other opener from that country has managed since the days of Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar.

• The next Saeed Anwar

Hashmatullah Shaidi (Afghanistan)

A holdover from the previous Under 19 World Cup, he has since graduated to the senior Afghan team and was at the wicket when they secured their place at next year’s senior version. Fitness permitting, he is almost certain to be part of the Afghan national side when they make their debut in Australia and New Zealand. The compact left-hander topped his side’s batting charts here, with 251 runs at an average of 50.20 and a healthy strike-rate of 78.93.

• The next Nawroz Mangal

Yaseen Valli (South Africa)

With a paucity of first-class cricket experience and few international tournaments, South Africa were unheralded when they arrived for this event. They will leave it with their reputations enhanced, especially Rabada, Aiden Markram, their captain, and Valli, the all-rounder. Going into the final, the left-arm spinner tops his side’s batting averages, with 239 runs at 119.50, and is second in the bowling, with nine wickets at 11.11.

• The next JP Duminy

Kuldeep Yadav (India)

Not all of India’s vaunted side of millionaires-in-waiting came out of this tournament in better fettle than when they entered it. Sanju Samson and Sarfaraz Khan managed to, via their success with the bat, but Vijay Zol and Amir Ghani suffered, more because of behaviour than performance. Yadav, though, continues to impress, having taken 14 wickets. He is of that rare breed – a left-arm leg-spinner – and has a bright future.

• The next Ravi Ashwin

Nicolas Pooran (West Indies)

The Trinidadian wicketkeeper-batsman played the outstanding individual innings of the tournament in the defeat to Australia. His 143 was remarkable, given the circumstances. He arrived at the wicket when the score was seven for three and soon to be 70 for eight. He ended up contributing 69 per cent of his side’s total as he hoisted them to 208. He ended the series as the Caribbean side’s leading scorer, too.

• The next Jeffrey Dujon

Karamat Ali (Pakistan)

An unknown quantity even in Pakistan before this season started, he has ended it as his side’s go-to bowler and potentially the key player in today’s final. He initially took up leg-spin as his club coaches back at home told him to give up trying to bowl fast because of his diminutive stature. He has clearly mastered the art, having followed up an exceptional showing in the Asia Cup with 11 wickets so far in the World Cup.

• The next Mushtaq Ahmed

Jake Doran (Australia)

Having only recently turned 17, Doran will still be around the next time the Under 19 World Cup is played in Bangladesh, in two years’ time. He should be quite the player by then, seeing as he already looks the part on the strength of his performances in Australia’s middle-order here. Short of stature but big on talent, he was Australia’s leading run-gatherer in this competition with 249 runs at an average of 83.

• The next Mike Hussey

pradley@thenational.ae

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