Brisbane: Australia and South Africa continued their unbeaten run in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Australia 2012 with contrasting wins in their Super League quarter-finals on Sunday.
At the Endeavour Park in Townsville, defending champion Australia earned a hard-fought five-wickets win over Bangladesh. Australia captain Will Bosisto led from the front as his side overcame the loss of early wickets to chase down Bangladesh’s total of 171.
South Africa, on the other hand, was clinical in its performance against England in the other Super League quarter-final as it registered a 103-run victory. South Africa’s Prenelan Subrayen was the star of the win with the ball at the Tony Ireland Stadium in front of ESPN STAR Sports’ HD cameras.
Australia and South Africa will now clash in the first semi-final on Tuesday 21 August, at the Tony Ireland Stadium in front of ESPN STAR Sports’ HD cameras.
Meanwhile, on Monday, arch rivals India and Pakistan will meet at the Tony Ireland Stadium in the third quarter-final to be broadcast live by ESPN STAR Sports. Both India (2000 and 2008) and Pakistan (2004 and 2006) have won the title twice.
This will also be the first of two potential meetings between the two Asian powerhouses this year in ICC events. If all goes according to ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 seedings, then the two former champions could clash in the Super Eight stage at R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on 30 September.
New Zealand and West Indies will figure in the fourth and final quarter-final, also on Monday, at Endeavour Park 1. Both sides have appeared in an ICC U19 Cricket World Cup final but are yet to win the title. New Zealand lost the final to England in 1998 while the West Indies lost to Pakistan in the 2004 final.
The winners of India-Pakistan and New Zealand-West Indies matches will play in the second semi-final at Tony Ireland Stadium on Thursday (23 August) in front of ESPN STAR Sports’ HD cameras.
Clinical South Africa too strong for England
South Afric, set up a semi-final clash with Australia on Tuesday with its 103-run victory over England, which was bowled out for 141 in pursuit of the young Proteas’ total of 245.
Opener Quinton de Kock, South Africa’s leading run-getter, was an early casualty (dismissed for seven by Jamie Overton) but captain Chad Bowes (46: 54b, 6x4), left-hander Murray Coetzee (67: 83b, 6x4) and all-rounder Theunis de Bruyn (54: 65b, 6x4) combined to get Proteas to a useful score.
England seamer Reece Topley (three for 45 from 10 overs) bowled well at the death and after the game, South Africa captain Chad Bowes felt his side had fallen probably 40 runs short of where it wanted to be.
England skipper Adam Ball thought likewise, praising the efforts of his attack in restricting South Africa to a score under 250.
“We backed ourselves to chase that score down but that was not to be,” Ball said after the game.
Top order duo of Ben Foakes (54: 72b, 4x4,1x6) and Alex Davies (54: 103b, 6x4) were the only key contributors for England as it was bundled out for 141 in the 41st over.
But Bowes said runs on the board and the pressure of the chase turned out to be in their favour, as 18-year-old Durban off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen and seamers Calvin Savage and Lizaad Williams joined forces to ruin England’s hopes.
Subrayen, the man of the match, removed Foakes to break a century partnership with Davies, and went on to snap up four for 24 from 10 overs, including Davies.
He was well backed by excellent fielding by the whole side, while wicket-keeper de Kock finished with three catches and two stumpings, with four of those dismissals coming off the bowling of Subrayen.
Bowes said the team prided itself on its fielding, something that stems from South Africa’s reputation as one of the game’s best fielding countries.
“Being a good fielding team is something that is in the culture of South Africa cricket and we are aware of that and work hard on it.”
Savage was economical and effective on the third-day pitch, finishing with one for 16 from seven overs in a feisty effort, while Williams bustled in to claim two for 23 from seven overs.
He also featured in a fine run-out of Craig Overton, with his boundary throw catching the strapping English all-rounder short of his ground.
Australia secures win over Bangladesh
Australia pulled off a five-wicket victory over Bangladesh to seal its spot in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012 semi-final.
Australia captain Will Bosisto won the toss and elected to bowl in overcast conditions at Endeavour Park in Townsville.
Left-handed Bangladesh opener Soumya Sarkar got Bangladesh off to a good start combining well with Liton Das for an opening stand of 64.
The opening partnership was broken by a superb fielding effort from West Australia’s Cameron Bancroft to run out Das for 22 (45b,2x4).
Ashton Turner was the first to strike with the ball picking up the wicket of Bangladesh captain Anamul Haque caught behind by Queensland’s James Peirson.
A bowling change by Bosisto to bring on right-arm off-spinner Travis Head proved to be a masterstroke for Australia as he claimed the scalp of Sarkar who hit a classy 73 (80b, 6x4, 3x6).
Head ended his bowling with three for 30 from seven overs, the best of the Australia wicket takers.
Bangladesh’s middle-order failed to stand-up to the task losing three quick wickets in three overs and its innings ended in the 42nd over leaving Australia 171 for the chase.
In its reply, Australia got off to a wobbly start losing the wickets of Bancroft (1), Victoria’s Meyrick Buchanan (0) and New South Wales’ Kurtis Patterson (0) in the first five overs.
Bosisto and South Australia’s Travis Head combined for a crucial fifth-wicket stand of 67 to get Australia back on track, until Head (44, 49b, 2x4,1x6) was caught by Abu Jayed at deep square leg.
Player of the match Bosisto (71 not out: 134b, 7x4) was again outstanding for the young Australia side, playing patiently and maturely, combining with fellow Western Australian Turner for a sixth wicket unbeaten stand of 72 to take his side to victory in the 45th over.
Bosisto said he was very pleased to be in the semis: “I think I played my role in the middle order and got us over the line, but we made it hard for ourselves losing a few early wickets, so that is something we will be working on for our next match.
“We just managed to nudge the runs around as much as we could and eventually we got on top of them.”
Bosisto added he had great support from Head and Turner: “Ashton and I have played a fair bit of cricket together and we know our own games well and work together well, both out in the field and when we are batting together.
“There are quite a few part time spinners who can come on and do a job but I think Travis came on and did more than a job today, he came on and took more than a couple of wickets and bowled it tight.”
Scores in Brief:
Super League Quarter-Finals
South Africa beat England by 103 runs, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
South Africa 244 all out, 50 overs (Murray Coetzee 67, Theunis de Bruyn 54, Chad Bowes 46; Reece Topley 3-45, Craig Overton 2-43)
England 141 all out, 40.3 overs (Alex Davies 54, Ben Foakes 54; Prenelan Subrayen 4-24, Lizaad Williams 2-23)
Player of the Match: Prenelan Subrayen (South Africa)
Australia beat Bangladesh by five wickets, Endeavour Park No 2, Townsville
Bangladesh 171 all out, 43 overs (Soumya Sarkart 73; Travis Head 3-30, Ashton Turner 2-22, Joel Paris 2-38)
Australia 172 for five, 45.5 overs (Will Bosisto 71 not out, Travis Head 44; Taskin Ahmed 2-31, Abu Jayed 2-37)
Player of the Match: Will Bosisto (Australia)
Plate Championship Quarter-Finals
Scotland beat Zimbabwe by 41 runs, Peter Burge Oval, Brisbane
Scotland 241 for seven, 50 overs (Nicholas Farrar 58, Peter Ross 43, Aman Bilawal 30 not out; Luke Jongwe 2-31, Kyle Bowie 2-50)
Zimbabwe 200 for nine, 50 overs (Ryan Burl 52; Ruaidhri Smith 2-23, Kyle Smith 2-36, Gavin Main 2-59)
Player of the Match: Nicholas Farrar (Scotland)
Afghanistan beat PNG by four wickets, Allan Border Field, Brisbane
Papua New Guinea 239 for five, 50 overs (Chris Kent 105 not out, Nigel Boge 55 not out; Aftab Alam 2-41)
Afghanistan 244 for six, 49 overs (Mohibullah Paak 54 not out, Noor-ul-Haq 34, Najibullah Zadran 32)
Player of the Match: Chris Kent (PNG)
Schedule:
Super League
Quarter-finals:
*Mon 20 Aug – India v Pakistan, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville – Enamul Hoque Moni and Richard Illingworth (on-field), Peter Nero (third umpire), Chris Gaffaney (fourth umpire); Roshan Mahanama (match referee)
Mon 20 Aug –New Zealand v West Indies, Endeavour Park 1, Townsville - Johan Cloete and Ranmore Martinesz (on-field), Ravi Sundaram (third umpire), Paul Reiffel (fourth umpire); Roshan Mahanama (remote match referee)
*Indicates broadcast match
Plate Championship
Quarter-finals
Mon 20 Aug – Sri Lanka v Nepal, Peter Burge Oval, Brisbane - Courtney Young and Owen Chirombe (on-field), Richard Smith (third umpire), Mark Hawthorne (fourth umpire); David Boon (match referee)
Mon 20 Aug – Ireland v Namibia, WEP Harris Oval, Brisbane – Sarika Prasad and Ahsan Raza (on-field), Ian Ramage (third umpire), Buddhi Pradhan (fourth umpire); David Boon (remote match referee)
By Indian Sports News Network
