England 192 (46.3 overs) v West Indies 196/8 (41 overs)
The West Indies Rising Stars Under 19 Men’s team defeated England U19s by two wickets in thrilling encounter in Potchefstroom to earn a spot in the Super6s of the ICC Men’s U19 World Cup in South Africa.
Winning the toss and bowling first, Rising Stars began well with Nathan Edward sending back Jaydn Denly in the opening over.
Skipper Ben McKinney combined with Noah Thain to rebuild England’s innings, but Edward struck again, dismissing the captain in a telling blow for England.
Hamza Sheikh hit the ground running, racing to 20 off 23 balls, but Tarrique Edward struck next, removing Thain for 40. Off-spinner Edward added another in his next over as the dangerous Luc Benkenstein perished for one.
Charlie Allison and Sheikh put on a small partnership, but Nathan Sealy put the Rising Stars back in the driver’s seat with Allison’s wicket in the 28th over. Isai Thorne, fresh off a five-wicket haul, went on to dismiss Dominic Kelly and England were reduced to 135/6.
Sheikh continued his patient innings to bring up a half-century. His stay at the crease didn’t last longer than that, as Thorne once again showed his class taking his wicket for 54.
Despite runs from the lower order, England finished on 192 all out.
England bounced back early with the ball as Dominic Kelly sent back Adrian Weir in the first over for a duck. Rising Stars skipper Stephan Pascal unleashed his strokes, smashing three successive boundaries in the fifth over to reveal his intent early.
Farhan Ahmed accounted for Joshua Dorne, but Pascal’s aggression was matched by Jordan Johnson, who flaunted his strong back-foot game. The duo kept the run-rate high, piling pressure on England’s bowlers, who had a small total to defend.
It was Farhan who produced the breakthrough again when Johnson’s cut went straight to the point fielder. West Indies continued to go for their shots but Tazeem Ali’s double blow in quick succession put England right on top.
Ali dismissed Mavendra Dindyal and the in-form Jewel Andrew, coming off a century and a half-century in the previous games, in back-to-back overs to dent the Rising Stars charge.
But Pascal found support from Nathan Edward and the duo went about playing risk-free cricket to rebuild the West Indian innings. Pascal raised his half-century as Edward looked to keep his end safe.
Ali returned to the attack in the 30th over and in his second over of the spell, the leggie snared Pascal’s wicket to give England a late boost in the match. With the target still over 40 runs away, it was a big opening for England.
Eddie Jack compounded West Indies’ worries soon after when he trapped Sealy in front for one. Edward, however, continued to play his strokes and with his namesake, Tarrique for support, West Indies kept England at bay.
A wicket with the scores level added late drama to the tense game, but Edward sealed a win with a boundary to finish unbeaten on 49.
Skipper Stephan Pascal revealed that he was cramping up when batting post the game:
“I was cramping up when I was batting. So long as I was in the middle, it was normal, but when I got to the sidelines, my heartbeat was high. We have shown a lot of passion. It was a lapse of concentration on my part [that saw him lose his wicket], but Edward was up to the task.”
–CWI [https://www.windiescricket.com/news/]
