ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup Day 17 Preview
England U19 v Pakistan U19, 5th-place play-offKhan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah
Pakistan Under-19 and England Under-19 would like to end their ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016 campaign on a high by claiming the fifth place when they meet at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah on Friday (February 12).
Having beaten Nepal Under-19 and Namibia Under-19 in the fifth place play-off semifinals at the same venue respectively, both Pakistan and England have regained form after missing out on the title race with defeats to West Indies Under-19 and Sri Lanka Under-19 in the quarterfinals.
Jack Burnham, who already has three centuries in the tournament so far, will be one of the players to look out for in the game. Only India’s Shikhar Dhawan, in 2004, has hit as many hundreds in one edition of the competition.
If Burnham manages to make a significant contribution, then England will have a good chance. While Burnham tops the tournament’s batting charts with an aggregate of 418 runs at 104.50, his teammate Saqib Mahmood will be itching to go back to the top of the bowling charts.
Apart from the two, England also has Dan Lawrence, who has been in equally good form.
England, however, came up short against Sri Lanka's spinners in the quarterfinal, and Burnham and Lawrence will be aware that to finish on a high, they’ll have to do well against Shadab Khan, the legspinner who has been Pakistan’s go-to bowler in the tournament.
Shadab apart, Pakistan will also hope that Hasan Mohsin, who has been one of the finds both as a batsman and a new-ball bowler, ends the tournament with a triumphant note.
Pakistan: Gohar Hafeez (capt), Saif Ali, Saif Badar, Sameen Gul, Salman Fayyaz, Shadab Khan, Hasan Khan, Irfan Liaqat, Hasan Mohsin, Umair Masood, Zeeshan Malik, Arsal Sheikh, Ahmad Shafiq. Mohammad Umar, Hayatullah.
England: Brad Taylor (capt), George Bartlett, Jack Burnham, Mason Crane, Sam Curran, Ryan Davies, Aneurin Donald, George Garton, Ben Green, Max Holden, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Tom Moores, Callum Taylor, Jared Warner.
Afghanistan U19 v Zimbabwe U19, 9th-place play-offSheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium, Cox’s Bazar
The two sides who have played the best cricket in the Plate Championship of the ICC Under-19 World Cup – Afghanistan Under-19 and Zimbabwe Under-19 – will fight for the ninth spot, the highest on offer.
The spirit Zimbabwe exuded when sweeping aside South Africa Under-19 was stirring stuff, bowling out the defending champion for 91 and chasing the total down in 22 overs. Similarly convincing all-round prowess was displayed in their previous match, against Canada, and Zimbabwe will hope to go one step further on Friday.
That will prove easier said than done against Afghanistan, whose spinners created all manners of problems for the New Zealand batsmen in their semifinal. The batsmen also displayed welcome signs of stability thereafter, and they look capable enough to go all the way. How the Zimbabwe batsmen fare against the Afghanistan spinners is what could decide the outcome of this clash.
Their senior sides clashed in two nail-biting series in Bulawayo and Sharjah recently, making theirs an exciting new rivalry in the sport. Their Under-19 sides look more than capable of carrying the baton.
Teams (from)Afghanistan U19: Ihsanullah Janat (capt), Zia-ur-Rehman Akbar, Zahir Ahmadzai, Qais Hassan, Karim Janat, Ikram Ali Khail, Shamsurrahman Wali Khail, Zahir Khan, Muslim Musa, Nijat Masood, Parwiz Malikzai, Nasir Omar, Naveed Obaid, Waheed Shafaq, Tariq Stanikzai.
Zimbabwe U19: Brandon Mavuta (capt), Trevvor Chibvongodze, Jeremy Ives, Adam Keefe, Kundai Matigimu, William Mashinge, Wessly Madhevere, Rugare Magarira, Sydney Murombo, Ryan Murray, Richard Ngarava, Akshay Patel, Brendan Sly, Shaun Snyder, Milton Shumba.
New Zealand U19 v South African U19, 11th-place play-offSheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium Academy Ground, Cox’s Bazar
Both outfits came into the tournament as highly rated ones, but will now have to play for the 11th spot. Pride will drive them onwards in the final match.
The two have had remarkably similar tournaments, starting with their respective losses against Associate sides in the group stages – South Africa to Namibiaand New Zealand Under-19 to Nepal. Their batsmen have suffered bouts of implosion, and bowlers periods of ineffectiveness. It’s all made this an intriguing clash, one which will come down to which of the two sides can arrest the slide better.
Teams (from)South Africa: Tony de Zorzi (capt), Ziyaad Abrahams, Dean Foxcroft, Dayyaan Galiem, Willie Ludick, Wandile Makwethu, Conner McKerr, Rivaldo Moonsamy, Wiaan Mulder, Luke Philander, Farhaan Sayanvala, Lutho Sipamla, Liam Smith, Kyle Verreynne and Sean Whitehead.
New Zealand: Josh Finnie (capt), Finnley Allen, Josh Clarkson, Zak Gibson, Christian Leopard, Felix Murray, Aniket Parikh, Dale Phillips, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Talor Scott, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Daniel Stanley, Ross ter Braak.