England, Afghanistan qualify for U19 WC semifinals
England continued to remain unbeaten in the Under-19 World Cup and sealed their place in the last four after swatting New Zealand aside in Bulawayo. On a surface that wasn't easier for batting, England adapted, and posted a competitive 234 before defending it with ease to win by 65 runs.
Despite not getting off to a flier, England's openers gave their side a solid platform with a 48-run stand. After Joseph Moores departed for 20, Ben Dawkins and Ben Mayes carried on to set up another fruitful partnership. But New Zealand fought back with regular strikes in the second half of the innings and ensured there was no momentum for the batting side. Mayes hit a half-century and Caleb Falconer hit a crucial 47 but it was Farhan Ahmed's cameo of 29* off just 23 balls that eventually pushed the scoring rate right at the end.
In reply, New Zealand made a poor start in pursuit of 235. Manny Lumsden picked two wickets in an over and there was also a needless run out that reduced New Zealand to 64/4. Snehith Reddy, who had bagged a couple of wickets with the ball, tried to resurrect the chase with a fighting 47 but once he departed, the job became a lot easier for the English bowling attack. Lumsden put an end to New Zealand's struggles in the 39th over with wickets off successive deliveries to finish with a five-fer.
Brief scores: England 234/7 in 50 overs (Ben Mayes 53, Caleb Falconer 47; Snehith Reddy 2/28) beat New Zealand 169 in 38.5 overs (Snehith Reddy 47; Manny Lumsden 5/17) by 65 runs
Faisal Khan's extraordinary century was the highlight of Afghanistan's historic win over Ireland that helped them seal their spot in the semifinals. Faisal hit a belligerent 163 off 142 deliveries after walking out to bat by the end of the third over. He almost batted through the innings and was dismissed only in the 48th over. He was involved in a mammoth partnership with Mahboob Khan who hit 89 off just 79 balls.
Even though Ireland did pick up a few late wickets, the damage was already done as Afghanistan managed to breach 300 and put themselves in a strong position. Abdul Aziz then came out with the ball to put Ireland under more pressure. Having made just 7 runs from the first four overs, Ireland were reduced to 21/3 in the ninth over with Aziz striking twice.
The wickets continued to tumble as Ireland lost half their side for just 53. Marko Bates and Reuben Wilson arrested the slide for a brief period with a fighting half-century partnership but it only managed to delay the inevitable. From 108/5 to 124 all out, Ireland succumbed real quick to lose the contest by a massive margin of 191 runs.
Brief scores: Afghanistan 315/7 in 50 overs (Faisal Khan 163, Mahboob Khan 89; Reuben Wilson 3/52) beat Ireland 124 in 40.4 overs (Marko Bates 34; Abdul Aziz 3/21) by 191 runs
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