With surnames such as Bracewell and Latham in the New Zealand side, and McDermott and Marsh in the Australian squad, it is tempting to think the tournament is more of a reunion than a stepping stone for the next generation.
The apple, it appears, does not drop far from the tree.
The Bracewells we are talking about are Michael and Doug, not John and Brendon.
John played 41 tests and is Michael's and Doug's uncle.
Brendon played six tests and is Doug's father and Michael's uncle.
And it's Tom Latham, not Rod Latham.
Rod played four tests for New Zealand.
Alister McDermott is the spitting image of his father, Craig McDermott.
McDermott sen carved out an impressive international record for Australia, taking 291 wickets.
Mitchell Marsh is the brother of Shaun Marsh and the son of former Australian opener Geoff Marsh, and Nick Buchanan is the son of former Australian coach John Buchanan.
The United States has a relation of Sir Vivian Richards in its ranks - if Regis Burton has a portion of the skill his great uncle had he will be quite some player - and Pakistan spinner Abdul Qadir's son, Usman Qadir, is carrying on the family tradition.
The tournament begins today with games in Christchurch, Queenstown and Palmerston North.
The Pakistan-West Indies match at Fitzherbert Park looks the best of the fixtures.
New Zealand is in pool C with Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Canada.
It opens its campaign against Canada in Lincoln, near Christchurch, tomorrow.
The home side is expected to beat the Canadians comfortably and likewise Zimbabwe, but Sri Lanka will present a stern test.
Doug Bracewell, Harry Boam and Corey Anderson have all played first-class cricket and Otago under-19 batsman Michael Bracewell also shapes as a player to watch.
Sri Lanka enters the tournament alongside India as one of the favourites.
Australia won the inaugural tournament in 1988 and 2002 but has struggled at under-19 level in recent years.
The team suffered a home series defeat to India in April and Sri Lanka in October.
The skipper, Mitchell Marsh, is expected to shine with the bat and opening batsmen Nic Maddinson averaged more than 70 in the one-day series against Sri Lanka.
The Australians are in group B with the highly-rated South Africa and minnows Ireland and the United States.
The Proteas made the final two years ago, losing to India, and are led by highly regarded wicketkeeper Josh Richards.
Group A should be dominated by the defending champion India, and England, with Afghanistan and Hong Kong likely to provide little more than open-wicket practice for two of the tournament's big guns.
England won the tournament in 1998 with a team which featured Graeme Swann.
Twelve years on, Christchurch-born all-rounder Ben Stokes will carry the side's hopes, aided by talented Hampshire batsman James Vince and Leicestershire's 18-year-old fast bowler Nathan Buck.
As a 15-year-old Buck was training with the likes of test players Stuart Broad and Graham Onions.
India has a great record, winning in 2000 and 2008 and finishing runner-up in 2006.
The Indians will not lack for inspiration with master blaster Sachin Tendulkar working with the team ahead of its defence, providing expert tips on what to expect in New Zealand conditions.
Leg-spinner and captain Ashok Menaria showed his flair for leadership, guiding India to a series victory in Australia, and watch for batsmen Harpreet Singh and Mayhank Agarwal and medium pacer Harshal Patel.
Group D will be the most keenly contested pool, with Pakistan, Bangladesh and the West Indies competing for places in the quarterfinals.
Papua New Guinea is unlikely to advance past pool play.
Pakistan is renowned for producing fast bowlers but it might be the spinners who dominate on New Zealand wickets, so watch for Raza Hasan and Usman Qadir.
Bangladesh will look to right-hand batsman Amit Majumder, while Kraigg Brathwaite is a star in the making for the West Indies.
He scored 73 on his first-class debut and was called into the West Indies test squad in July last year.
U-19 World Cup
New Zealand's draw
January 16: v Canada at Lincoln
January 19: v Zimbabwe at Christchurch
January 20: v Sri Lanka at Christchurch
Group B matches in Queenstown
January 15: South Africa v Ireland
January 16: Australia v United States
January 17: Australia v Ireland
January 18: South Africa v United States
January 19: Ireland v United States
January 20: South Africa v Australia
