Australia U19 prevail in last-ball thriller

Australia U19 prevailed over traditional rivals England U19 with a thrilling last-ball two-wicket win in the ICC U19 World Cup encounter played at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley, South Africa today (23).

Australia U19’s win came on the back of an unbeaten 48-run partnership in just 26 balls for the ninth wicket between Connor Scully and Todd Murphy.

With Australia U19 needing ten runs in the last over the pair saw their side through with Scully sneaking a single in the last ball.

Australia U19 in their run chase lost their first wicket on 19 but recovered through two partnerships involving skipper Mackenzie Harvey who scored 65 - first a second-wicket partnership of 51 runs with Sam Fanning and then a third-wicket stand of 83 runs with Lachlan Hearne.

Earlier in the day England U19 invited to take first lease of the wicket were given a flying start by openers Ben Charlesworth and Jordan Cox who together added 67 runs.

Charlesworth, who made a top score of 82 that included 11 boundaries, shared another valuable stand of 64 runs for the third wicket with Jack Haynes who chipped in with a 31.

Later Dan Mousley, who cracked a quick-fire unbeaten knock of 51 in 44 balls which had four boundaries and two sixes, along with Kaey Aldridge, whose unbeaten 32 came in 25 balls, associated in an unbroken 60-run partnership for the eighth wicket to help England U19 end with a challenging score of 252 for 7.

Meanwhile West Indies U19 ended the league campaign with an unbeaten record with a massive 246-run win against the hapless Nigeria U19 side.

West Indies U19 taking first lease of the wicket were steered by half tons from Matthew Patrick and Kimani Mellius which helped them end their innings with a formidable score of 303 for 8.

Nigeria U19 in their run chase didn't stand a chance after losing the top five wickets with just 29 runs on the board in the 12th over.

The innings did not last long as Jayden Seales, Ashmead Nedd and Matthew Patrick, who together shared nine wickets between them, combined to bundle them out for a meager 57 runs inside 22 overs.

West Indies U19 and Australia U19 have booked their berths to the Super 8 having ended as the top two teams in Group B.

Results:

At Diamond Oval Kimberley – Australia U19 won by two wickets

England U19 252 for 7 in 50 overs (Ben Charlesworth 82, Jack Haynes 31, Jordan Cox 25, Joey Evison 21, Dan Mousley 51 n.o., Kasey Aldridge 32 n.o.: Connor Sully 2 for 39)

Australia U19 253 for 8 in 50 overs (Mackenzie Harvey 65, Lachlan Hearne 45, Sam Fanning 31, Tanveer Sangha 21, Connor Sully 35 n.o., Todd Murphy 16 n.o.: Lewis Goldsworth 2 for 24, Hamidullah Qadri 2 for 35, Blake Cullen 2 for 68)

At Kimberley – West Indies U19 won by 246 runs

West Indies U19 303 for 8 in 50 overs (Matthew Patrick 68, Kimani Mellius 65, Joshu James 43, Kevlon Anderson 25: Peter Aho 2 for 53, Sylvester Okpe 2 for 66)

Nigeria U19 57 in 21.4 overs (Abdulrahman Jimoh 17: Jayden Seales 4 for 19, Ashmead Nedd 3 for 11, Matthew Patrick 2 for 16) - MSA