Sponsored by McDonald's, it was the inaugural edition of what is now the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, and formed part of the celebrations for the Australian Bicentenary.

[1] Eight teams participated, with the seven Test-playing ICC members joined by a composite team of players from ICC associate members.

[a] Australia defeated Pakistan in the final by five wickets, with England and the West Indies being the losing semi-finalists.

The tournament play-offs were held at Adelaide Oval, with the other matches held at country venues in the states of New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria.

Australia's Brett Williams was the leading run-scorer at the tournament, while his teammate Wayne Holdsworth and Pakistan's Mushtaq Ahmed were the joint leading wicket-takers.