West Indies bound: Australia reveal U19 World Cup squad

Western Australia's Cooper Connolly has been named in a second successive men's Under-19 World Cup with Australia seeking their first win in the tournament since 2010.

Australia's 15-player squad will assemble in Melbourne during the Boxing Day Test for January's World Cup in the West indies.

The 18-year-old Connolly, who is contracted with the Perth Scorchers in the KFC BBL, is joined by NSW fast bowler Jack Nisbett, Tasmanian allrounder Nivethan Radhakrishnan and Queensland allrounder Jackson Sinfield as other players with state rookie contracts or experience within domestic cricket.

Radhakrishnan, who spent time with the Delhi Capitals IPL side as a net bowler this year, is ambidextrous, and can switch which arm he bowls with mid-over depending on the match situation.

He played for the Australian Under 16 side against Pakistan in 2019 and was offered rookie contracts with both NSW and Tasmania for the 2021-22 season, eventually agreeing to join the Tigers.

Sinfeld, who was included in the Bulls' most recent Marsh Sheffield Shield squad, is an off-spinner and middle order batter and has been touted as a future star after coming through the Australian and Queensland under-age ranks.

The 17-year-old Victorian Harkirat Bajwa, who plays for the Melbourne Cricket Club with the likes of Sam Harper and Will Pucovski, is the youngest player on the tour, and would also be eligible for selection for the 2024 tournament.

Bajwa's club teammate Campbell Kellaway will be one of the side's top order batters, beginning Victoria's premier cricket season with two first XI centuries, as well as strong performances for the state's second XI, while WA young gun Teague Wyllie has two second XI centuries of his own this season.

The fast-bowling contingent is led by Nisbett, with Queenslander Tom Whitney and Victoria's Josh Garner other genuine quicks to be making the trip to the Caribbean.

The squad was finalised following trial matches at a training camp in Adelaide, with not all of the initial 37-player training squad able to attend given border restrictions.

The past two years have seen little underage representative cricket played, with Cricket Australia's Head of National Development Graham Manou acknowledging this made the selection process significantly harder.

"From a talent ID perspective, we've had access to world-leading technology that has allowed broader and more in-depth conversations between the coaches and players," he said.

"Inevitably, there were difficult selection decisions, but we will continue to support and monitor the development of all players in our pathway systems."

The team will be coached by New South Welshman Anthony Clark, with the development guru saying there was great variety within the playing group and that there were high hopes for the team's performance.

"Our squad includes players of all disciplines with experience in domestic cricket environments, and many have produced eye-catching performances across a variety of strong competitions this season," he said.

"The Under-19 World Cup provides players with an exceptional development opportunity and we look forward to seeing them represent their country with distinction."

The squad will assemble for a training camp in Melbourne from December 28, and will play pool matches against hosts West Indies, Sri Lanka and Scotland in Group D before the 16-team competition splits into two groups of eight for a Super League and Plate finals series.

Australia men's U19 World Cup squad: Harkirat Bajwa (VIC), Aidan Cahill (NSW), Cooper Connolly (WA), Joshua Garner (VIC), Isaac Higgins (SA), Campbell Kellaway (VIC), Corey Miller (NSW), Jack Nisbet (NSW), Nivethan Radhakrishnan (TAS), William Salzmann (NSW), Lachlan Shaw (NSW), Jackson Sinfield (QLD), Tobias Snell (QLD), Tom Whitney (QLD), Teague Wyllie (WA).

Australia's U19 World Cup Fixtures:

January 14: v West Indies, Guyana National Stadium

January 17: v Sri Lanka, Conaree Cricket Centre

January 19: v Scotland, Conaree Cricket Centre

Finals: from January 26 to February 6