• Five squad members have domestic experience; three, including Jones, return from the last edition
Tom Jones will lead a confident and experienced New Zealand side at the 2026 Men’s Under-19 World Cup, set to be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia. The Otago opener brings leadership and form, having scored a century on his first-class debut against Wellington last month.
The 15-man squad blends youth with experience. Five members have domestic caps, including batter Snehith Reddy, wicketkeeper Aryan Mann, fast bowler Mason Clarke, and bowling all-rounder Jaskaran Sandhu. Three, including Jones, represented New Zealand in the 2024 U-19 World Cup in South Africa, providing valuable tournament familiarity.
Reddy and Clarke have already made their List A debuts this year. Reddy impressed in the last edition with a tournament-high 147 against Nepal*, while Clarke claimed 4 for 62 against India, the eventual runners-up. The squad also features standouts from the national U-19 tournament in Lincoln, including Hugo Bogue, Brandon Matzopoulous, Marco Alpe, and Jacob Cotter.
The seam attack is bolstered by allrounders Harry Burns and Flynn Morey, both of whom took five-wicket hauls during the domestic U-19 tournament, ending with ten wickets apiece.
The squad will depart for Africa on January 2, ahead of a training camp in Bulawayo before warm-up matches begin on January 9. New Zealand are drawn in Group B, alongside USA, India, and Bangladesh, with their tournament opener against USA on January 18.
Anton Devcich, the former New Zealand batter, will guide the team as head coach, supported by NZC High Performance coaches Paul Wiseman and Graeme Aldridge. With a mix of proven talent and promising newcomers, New Zealand will look to build on their strong U-19 pedigree and challenge for the title.
New Zealand squad for Men’s Under-19 World Cup:
Tom Jones (C), Marco Alpe, Hugo Bogue, Harry Burns, Mason Clarke, Jacob Cotter, Aryan Mann, Brandon Matzopoulos, Flynn Morey, Snehith Reddy, Callum Samson, Jaskaran Sandhu, Selwin Sanjay, Hunter Shore, Harry Waite
