Today at Lord's Cricket Ground, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that England is to stage the Costcutter Under 15 World Cricket Challenge 2000 this summer.

England Under-15 players at the launch of the Costcutter World Cricket Challenge

The junior world cup event will see England's cricket stars of the future compete against the rising talent of other Test playing nations in a tournament providing valuable experience for the young players as they bid to reach the final at Lord's. The inaugural World Challenge event in 1996 introduced us to current Test players, Hasan Raza of Pakistan, the youngest ever to play Test cricket, and Mohammad Kaif of India. The Costcutter Under 15 World Cricket Challenge will provide the ideal springboard to launch new cricket careers.

Hugh Morris, Technical Director of the ECB, commented: "As part of the ECB's on-going commitment to the development of the game, the Costcutter Under 15 World Cricket Challenge will introduce talented cricketers to different cultures, styles and dimensions of the game as part of their cricketing education, and the tournament will aim to promote cricket from an early age to schoolchildren."

Colin Graves, Managing Director of Costcutter Supermarkets Group, said: "We firmly believe that our young cricketers require encouragement and the Under 15 World Cricket Challenge will provide the ideal platform for them. Costcutter's sponsorship is very much an investment in the development of young cricket talent in this country and beyond. Our strong community ties will ensure that the tournament is promoted to as wide an audience as possible, with in-store promotions running throughout our 900 stores around the country which will help drive match attendance."

England will line up at Lord's on 29th July for the Opening Ceremony alongside 1996 winners India, with Pakistan, South Africa, West lndies, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Holland challenging for the trophy. Two League Groups will play at Eton and Wellington Colleges, with the semi-finals being held at Chelmsford (home of Essex CCC) and Hove (Sussex CCC) on the 5th and 8th August. The final will be played at Lord's on Thursday 10th August and will be televised live on Sky Sports.

The tournament will be run by the ECB under the auspices of the ICC. Matches will be 50 overs per side and played to ICC regulations.