Commonwealth Bank Under-19 Championship Series begins in Brisbane

Australia's future Test cricket stars begin competing in the nation's premier underage competition today as the 2003-04 Commonwealth Bank Under-19 Championship Series begins in Brisbane.

Teams from every Australian state and territory will compete in seven rounds comprising of two-day and limited-overs matches. The round-robin format ensures each state plays each other once during the competition. The state with the highest points aggregate following the final round of matches on Friday 12 December will be declared the winner.

Victoria defends its title this year after a last-round outright victory over Tasmania in 2002-03 catapulted it clear of South Australia and New South Wales.

South Australian batsman Callum Ferguson and Victorian wicketkeeper Adam Crosthwaite come to this year's series having already debuted for their state at ING Cup level, while Tasmanian captain Tim Paine is a current scholar at the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy.

In addition to playing for their state, players this year are competing for a spot in Australia's squad for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, which will be played in Bangladesh in February 2004. The squad will be chosen during the series and announced at the championship dinner on Friday 12 December.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said the championship was an important bridge for promising players to develop their careers.

"The Commonwealth Bank Under-19 Championship Series continues to be a vital link between underage cricket and first-class representation," said Mr Sutherland.

"Many of Australia's best players at both domestic and international level began their first-class careers after playing at the under-19 championship series.

"Significantly, the series this year will produce an Australian squad for the under-19 World Cup, and for the first time in the competition's history, a Spirit of Cricket award will be presented," said Mr Sutherland.

Since the series' inception in 1969-70, 118 players have progressed from the under-19 championship series to play at Test or one-day international level. More than 450 players have gone on to play first-class cricket.

This year, the Commonwealth Bank Under-19 Championship Series is run by Cricket Australia in conjunction with Queensland Cricket.

Scorecards and reports from the series will be available on Cricket Australia's official website, www.baggygreen.com.au.