Zimbabwe will now face Papua New Guinea in their first match at the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022 on Saturday after their fixture schedule was changed to accommodate Afghanistan who could not travel to the West Indies in time for the start of the tournament.
Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea were drawn together in Group C of the biennial youth event that is set to run from 14 January to February 5.
According to the original schedule, Zimbabwe were supposed to open their campaign at the tournament against Afghanistan on 16 January, before taking on Papua New Guinea on 20 January and then facing Pakistan in their last group game on 22 January.
However, the ICC was forced to change the fixture schedule following the delayed arrival of Afghanistan into the region.
After successfully obtaining the necessary visas for travel, Afghanistan will arrive in the West Indies and undergo their required quarantine period.
To ensure all fixtures could be completed, Zimbabwe’s group matches, all to be played in Trinidad and Tobago, have been rescheduled as follows:
- 15 January – Zimbabwe v Papua New Guinea – Queens Park Oval
- 17 January – Pakistan v Zimbabwe – Diego Martin Sporting Complex
- 22 January – Afghanistan v Zimbabwe – Diego Martin Sporting Complex
All matches will start at 1500 hours Zimbabwe time.
“We are delighted that the Afghanistan squad have received the necessary visas and will be able to travel to participate in the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022,” ICC head of events Chris Tetley said.
“We have reworked the fixtures for Group C to ensure that all matches can take place within the allocated timeframe and would like to thank the participating members for their flexibility in finding a solution.”
