After the dizzying heights of the first two one day internationals against England it wasn't all that unexpected to see Black Caps fans have their summer brought down to size at Eden Park.

The loss was one that was easy to dismiss as one of the many bumps along the road to rebuilding a good national side, and this season has already been billed as one to build for the future.

The real future of New Zealand Cricket, however, is on display for all to see at the U19 World Cup in Malaysia that got underway at the weekend.

The majority of cricket fans already have had a glimpse of Tim Southee and what he might be capable of in years to come but he is far from the only talent in the side.

The team is saddled with the expectation of carrying five first-class cricketers in its ranks – Southee, Kane Williamson, Greg Morgan, George Worker and Corey Anderson who have already represented Northern Districts, Auckland, Central Districts and Canterbury respectively.

Williamson – already a young man burdened with the expectancy of great things – has been appointed as Captain of the very talented side.

His fellow players and even some coaches have already anointed him as the 'next' Martin Crowe.

During his initial brief foray into first class cricket he didn't quite live up to that very high expectation (it must be noted he had to contend with a red hot Andre Adams on more than one occasion) but he did show enough nous to make his peers believe a long career at the top was within his abilities.

In February of just last year Williamson was busy posting an accomplished 67 against an Indian U19 attack lead by Ishant Sharma.

Yes, the same Ishant Sharma that seems to be dominating two greats of the game in Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden in Australia right now.

Greg Morgan has already proved to be a fine addition to the Auckland line up in State Championship cricket and will provide to be more than a handful with bat and ball.

Canterbury's Corey Anderson has already been touted as New Zealand's next all rounder of note and the thought of him and Southee spearheading the Black Caps attack in the next decade is tantalising.

Other names not to forget in the side are Trent Boult - recently crowned the fastest schoolboy bowler in the country (and a left armer too) - Michael Bracewell, nephew of New Zealand coach John and Ken Rutherford's son Hamish.

Bracewell at just 16 is the youngest member of the squad and must have shown a fair amount of ability to be selected at such a young age.

In the past teams have seen U19 success directly flow on to their full national sides.

This was the case with Bangladesh a few years ago as players like Tamim Iqbal emerged from an U19 team that contested the business end of the World Cup.

And now it seems New Zealand could be a genuine contender for World Cricket's youth crown but national U19 convenor of selectors, Kaushik Patel, says despite the talent in the New Zealand squad we still may struggle against the larger nations.

"In terms of preparation and first-class experience this is probably the best side we've sent away to the tournament."

"In terms of funding and resources, however, our efforts would pale in comparison."

Patel says a shift of focus onto youth cricket by New Zealand Cricket has been part of the reason why our side is so strong this time around but more could still be done.

Win the U19 World Cup or not, I look forward to the day when this very talented team is the core of our national side.