All-rounder Oscar Jackson will captain a 15-man New Zealand squad at the 2024 ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup in South Africa in January and February.

New Zealand Cricket has announced its 15-man squad ahead of the exciting upcoming ICC mega event in the form of the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup. Talented all-rounder Oscar Jackson will take up the captaincy. Notably, the highly anticipated mega tournament begins on January 19 in South Africa.

Speaking of the squad, 11 familiar faces have been retained for the global event. Interestingly, three of the remaining four members in their family have played cricket in one way or another. Tom Jones is the grandson of former New Zealand captain Jeremy Coney. While Zac Cumming is the son of renowned commentator and former New Zealand player and coach Craig Cummins.

Likewise, Central Districts seamer Matt Rowe follows in the family footsteps as the cousin of pace bowler Hannah Rowe, while Tom Jones is the grandson of former New Zealand Test captain Jeremy Coney.

Rowe is one of four new faces in the squad, joining the other 11 squad players who helped win the ICC East Asia Pacific Qualifiers in Darwin in June to qualify for the 15th edition of the Under-19 World Cup .

Auckland opening batsman James Nelson is another player to force his way into the squad after topping the run charts at the NZC Under-19 Men's National Tournament in Lincoln last week, where he scored four centuries for the title-winning side scored in six innings.

All-rounder Cam Paul, who was part of the squad that qualified in Darwin and had already represented Canterbury in the Ford Trophy, was ruled out with a shoulder injury.

You just need to look at the impressive list of players who have represented New Zealand at this tournament: NZ U19 Coach

Ahead of his departure for the 2024 ICC Under-19 World Cup, New Zealand Under-19 coach Jonny Bassett-Graham reflected on the significance of the global event. He named senior legends of the country such as national team captain Kane Williamson as well as Southee and some other rising stars such as Rachin Ravindra, who represented the country at the Under-19 level before becoming international sensations. Therefore, Bassett-Graham believes this World Cup will be of utmost importance to New Zealand's young budding cricketers.

“This tournament will be a great opportunity for our players to compete against the best in the world in their age group and we hope it will be a great experience. You only have to look at the impressive list of players who have represented New." "Seeland is at this tournament to understand its importance - from experienced Blackcaps like Kane Williamson and Tim Southee to rising stars like Rachin Ravindra and Adi Ashok,” Jonny Bassett-Graham, the under-19 coach, was quoted.

New Zealand Squad:

Oscar Jackson (capt, bat), Mason Clarke (pace), Sam Clode (wk), Zac Cumming (spin/bat), Rahman Hekmat (spin), Tom Jones (bat), James Nelson (bat), Snehith Reddy (bat/spin), Matt Rowe (pace), Ewald Schreuder (pace), Lachlan Stackpole (bat), Oliver Tewatiya (bat/spin), Alex Thompson (wk), Ryan Tsourgas (pace), Luke Watson (bat)

Reserves: Ben Breitmeyer - (pace), Nick Brown (wk), Henry Christie (bat), Robbie Foulkes (bat), Josh Oliver (pace/bat), Amogh Paranjpe (pace)