Gaji
It's the day after the Under-19 World Cup final and Townsville feels different. Flinders Street bears no sign of the Indian party the night before, and the cafés on Palmer are missing the groups of young cricketers who've been ever-present over the last two weeks. For the 240 players who've left the city, the fortnight gone by has been probably the most revealing, instructive and emotional of their teenage lives.
The 2012 Under-19 World Cup has felt like a bowler's tournament; perhaps it was the imprint left by the first day, when England were dismissed for 143 by Australia after which Reece Topley broke Jimmy Peirson's middle stump and Jamie Overton let rip at scary speeds for someone so young.
The finalists were perhaps the best prepared sides and their success a vindication of the investment made. India gave their players exposure by going on two tours, to Malaysia and Townsville, and hosting a quadrangular series. Their players had been tested by foreign conditions and demanding situations several times before they faced the pressures of the World Cup. The Indians also had an elaborate camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore where, apart from their cricket skills, the players worked on intangible factors such as building trust and team spirit.
The 2012 Under-19 World Cup was the time of Reece Topley and Anamul Haque, of William Bosisto and Unmukt Chand, the stars of a stage protected by age. Whether it is they, or someone who was hidden in obscurity during the last two weeks, who will succeed in greater arenas, it is much too early to tell. Most of the cricketers who came to Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Townsville will never return again, but perhaps the time they spent here will be the making of some of them.
The 2012 Under-19 World Cup has felt like a bowler's tournament; perhaps it was the imprint left by the first day, when England were dismissed for 143 by Australia after which Reece Topley broke Jimmy Peirson's middle stump and Jamie Overton let rip at scary speeds for someone so young.
The finalists were perhaps the best prepared sides and their success a vindication of the investment made. India gave their players exposure by going on two tours, to Malaysia and Townsville, and hosting a quadrangular series. Their players had been tested by foreign conditions and demanding situations several times before they faced the pressures of the World Cup. The Indians also had an elaborate camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore where, apart from their cricket skills, the players worked on intangible factors such as building trust and team spirit.
The 2012 Under-19 World Cup was the time of Reece Topley and Anamul Haque, of William Bosisto and Unmukt Chand, the stars of a stage protected by age. Whether it is they, or someone who was hidden in obscurity during the last two weeks, who will succeed in greater arenas, it is much too early to tell. Most of the cricketers who came to Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Townsville will never return again, but perhaps the time they spent here will be the making of some of them.
