Ireland have become the first team to name their squad for the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup set to take place in Zimbabwe in January 2026.
The pace duo of Olly Riley and Reuben Wilson are elected as the captain and vice-captain of the team respectively.
Wilson is set to play in his third edition of the marquee event and will look to draw upon his experience if Ireland are to make a deep run in the tournament.
The squad are set to take part in an eight day high performance camp before the U-19 World Cup in South Africa where they will play two preparation matches against The North West Colts.
Ireland will then travel to Zimbabwe where they will play two warm-up games in Windhoek before they begin the tournament with a challenging fixture against defending champions Australia.
The young and promising side will be fuelled by ambition, as they enter this edition of the tournament off the back of their best ever World Cup finish, as their eight place also handed them guaranteed qualification for the tournament.
Backing the side, head coach Peter Johnston told Cricket Ireland: “I’m extremely proud of the effort and professionalism the squad has shown since September. They’ve worked through national training weekends, regional skills sessions, and a strong S&C programme. Stuart Thompson has driven big physical improvements across the group, reflected clearly in recent testing. December will be another busy month indoors as we build toward our New Year’s Eve departure.
“We’ve also had excellent support from our sport psych and nutrition team, helping the players develop in a rounded, high-performance environment. It’s also been great having senior internationals such as George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, and Lorcan Tucker involved as valuable mentors to this group.
Fixtures:
High performance Camp Potchefstroom:
5 January - North West Colts v Ireland U19
7 January - North West Colts v Ireland U19
World Cup Warm-Up all matches are set to be played at Windhoek:
10 January - West Indies U19 v Ireland U19
13 January - Tanzania U19 v Ireland U19
World Cup Group stage, all matches are set to be played at Windhoek:
16 January - Australia U19 v Ireland U19
19 January - Sri Lanka U19 v Ireland U19
22 January - Japan U19 v Ireland U19
Ireland Squad
Oliver Riley (captain), Reuben Wilson (vice-captain), Alex Armstrong, Callum Armstrong, Marko Bates, Sebastian Dijkstra, Thomas Ford, Samuel Haslett, Adam Leckey, Febin Manoj, Luke Murray, Robert O’Brien, Freddie Ogilby, James West, Bruce Whaley,
Non-Travelling Reserves:
Peter le Roux, William Shields
Coaching and Support staff:
Peter Johnston (Head Coach), Nigel Jones (Assistant Coach), Albert Van der Merwe (Manager/Analyst), Stuart Thompson (S&C), Darren Nicol (Physiotherapist), Jess Burgess (Doctor)
