JEDDAH — Saudi Cricket Centre (SCC) team has reached in Thailand to participate in ICC U19 CWC Asia Division 2 qualifiers.

The 14-member team is led by wicketkeeper batsman Mohammed Nawazish Jezuli. Rahat Chaudhary and Sarfraz Ahmad are manager and coach, respectively.

Other players are: Saud, Abdullah Riaz, Aadil Mahmood Siddiqui, Mohammad Naeem, Ahmed Abdul Waheed Baladraf, Mohammad Taha, Osama Ahmed, Mohammad Abdullah Wasi, Rayyan Azhar, Mohammad Abdul Rahman, Zohaib Asim, Mohammad Yaseen Uddin and Imran Ahmed Malik Jalil.

Ten teams are participating in the tournament. They are divided into two groups. Group A is comprised of Hong Kong, Maldives, Bahrain, China and Kuwait and they will be playing the league matches in Chiangmai, while Saudi Arabia, Bhutan, Thailand, Qatar and Oman are placed in Group B and will be playing in Bangkok.

Two top teams from each pool will advance to the semifinals and the finalists will qualify to play Division 1 in 2019.

Nadeem Nadwi, chief executive of SCC and other board officials expressed good wishes for the team’s success and hoped that the players would perform to their full potential.

In the first practice match of the tour against Malaysia Cricket Association (MCA), the host won the toss elected to bat and scored 151-8 in 32 overs when the match was abandoned due to heavy rain. But the second match was won by Saudi Arabia by 20 runs on D/L. Batting first Saudi U19 scored 233 in 49.3 overs. Captain Mohammad Nawazish hit 57, while Abdullah Riaz contributed 32 and Rayyan Azhar 44. MCA managed 132-8 in 26.2 overs chasing the revised target of 184.