Former Australia coach Tim Nielsen takes charge of Australia Under-19s

Former Australia coach Tim Nielsen will take over as Australia's Under-19s coach ahead of the upcoming series against India Under-19s with the World Cup on the horizon but Australia's squad won't feature star batter Oliver Peake as he will be touring with the Australia A team.

Cricket Australia announced a 15-man squad for the upcoming home series against India Under-19s in Brisbane and Mackay starting next month, which will feature three 50-over matches and two four-day games. The three Youth ODIs will be played on September 21, 24 and 26 at Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane. The first Youth Test will be held at the same venue starting on September 30 while the second will played in Mackay from October 7.

Nielsen, 57, coached Australia's men's team between 2007 and 2011, having been a long-time assistant to former Australia coach John Buchanan before that, as well as being head coach of CA's Centre of Excellence, a position that no longer exists.

Following his stint with Australia's men, Nielsen was South Australia and Adelaide Striker's long-time high performance manager before resigning in February 2024. He took up a brief post as Pakistan's high-performance red-ball coach alongside close friend and long-time colleague Jason Gillespie when the latter was Pakistan's Test coach in 2024.

Nielsen returns to a development role at CA after Lachlan Stevens resigned as CA's development coach earlier this year and his first duty will be to lead an Under-19s squad in their last bilateral series before the Under-19s World Cup in January in Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Australia's 15-player squad looks very different to the one CA sent to India in September and October last year, where they were beaten soundly 2-0 in the Youth Test series and 3-0 in the Youth ODI series. Only four players, Simon Budge, Steve Hogan, Hayden Schiller and Alex Lee Young, remain from that tour where India batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi announced himself with a 58-ball century in the first Youth Test.

Suryavanshi has been named in India's Under-19 squad to tour Australia. But Peake, who made a century in the second youth Test in India last year, has been selected on Australia A's tour of India that will occur at the same time, following an impressive first-class debut for Victoria in March and scoring 92 for Australia A against Sri Lanka A last month. Peake, 18, is still eligible to play in the Under-19s World Cup next year but it remains to be seen whether he will given he is contracted to Melbourne Renegades in the BBL and a key part of Victoria's plans for the upcoming Sheffield Shield season.

"We're excited to continue our preparation for the ongoing ICC U19 World cup cycle, with an exciting squad of emerging players,"CA's Head of National Development Sonya Thompson said.

This series against India provides a valuable opportunity for our young players to experience international cricket in white-ball and red-ball formats, and to test themselves against a high-quality opponent.

"The multi-format tour is designed to challenge players to adapt and grow, while also giving selectors and coaches meaningful insights ahead of the National U19 Championships in December.

"We're also thrilled to welcome Tim Nielsen as Head Coach of the National U19 squad. His extensive international experience and leadership will be instrumental in guiding and inspiring Australia's next generation of cricketers.

Australia Under-19 squad: Simon Budge, Alex Turner, Steve Hogan, Will Malajczuk, Yash Deshmukh, Tom Hogan, Aryan Sharma, John James, Hayden Schiller, Charles Lachmund, Ben Gordon, Will Byrom, Kasey Barton, Alex Lee Young, Jayden Draper
Reserves: Zed Hollick, Tom Paddington, Julian Osborne