Farhan Ahmed, the 15-year-old brother of England leg-spinner Rehan, is among England’s 15-strong squad for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, which begins in South Africa in January 2024.
The youngster, unlike his older brother, is an outsider and represented Nottinghamshire’s second eleven in the 2023 season. He is one of several people in the team who have a family connection to cricket. Kent University’s Jadon Denly is the nephew of former England Test batsman Joe, Durham University’s Haydon Mustard is the son of former England wicketkeeper Phil, and Luc Benkenstein is a former South African batsman and current Gloucestershire University coach. He is Dale’s son.
The team will be captained by Durham native Ben McKinney, who made his County Championship debut in 2023.
England have only won the Under-19 World Cup once, in 1998 with players like Rob Key and Graham Swann. They reached the final in 2022 but lost to India.
The tournament begins on January 13, 2024. England’s group includes Scotland, South Africa and the West Indies. The event was originally scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka, but was postponed after Sri Lanka Cricket was expelled from the ICC due to political interference.
England U19 Cricket World Cup Team: Ben McKinney (c), Luc Benkenstein, Farhan Ahmed, Tazeem Ali, Charlie Allison, Charlie Barnard, Jack Carney, Jadon Denly, Eddie Jack, Dominic Kelly, Sebastian Morgan, Haydon Mustard, Hamza Sheikh, Noah Sane, Theo Wylie.
