U19 Men’s CWC Warm-up Round-up – Zimbabwe notch up a win, but rain washes out remaining games
Zimbabwe beat USA in the only possible result on day three of the warm-up matches at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024.
Day three of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 warm-up matches in South Africa was marred by rain, leading to three of four games being washed out.
Despite the weather, the first two days saw exceptional performances, including South Africa's Kwena Maphaka and Pakistan's Ubaid Shah, along with impressive spinners Nathan Sealy and Mohammad Ghazanfar. India's Uday Saharan and USA's centurion Siddharth Kappa excelled with the bat.
More youngsters stood out on the third day of warm-up action. We round it up all up here.
Anrich Nortje chats with the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup captains in a candid Q & A session.
Ireland vs Namibia
Toss: Ireland elect to bat
Result: No result
Rain disrupted Ireland and Namibia's preparation for the U19 Men’s CWC. Namibia's first game against the USA was also rained out, while Ireland previously lost to Zimbabwe by the DLS method.
Today, after Ireland elected to bat, scoring 22 in 5.2 overs, rain halted and eventually ended the game.
Nepal v West Indies
Toss: Nepal opt to bowl
Result: No result
At the Dlamini Oval, Nepal, after deciding to bowl, saw Gulshan Jha make an early impact. However, rain interrupted with West Indies at 33/1 in under 10 overs, and play couldn't resume.
USA v Zimbabwe
Toss: USA opt to bowl
Result: Zimbabwe won by 12 runs (DLS Method)
USA impressed with their bowling against Zimbabwe at the Tshwane University of Technology Oval in Pretoria.
Aaryan Batra and Arya Garg took early wickets after they opted to bowl first, but Zimbabwe's Panashe Taruvinga held firm.
Batra and Garg shared five wickets, while Matthew Schonken, coming off a good performance with the ball in the previous game, added a crucial 29. Zimbabwe posted 136/9, which seemed below par.
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In response, the USA's innings saw a massive collapse as they slipped from 60/1 to 61/5, eventually reaching 112/9. Anesu Kamuriwo and Ryan Simbi, a late replacement in the squad, ran through the USA middle-order.
Despite Siddarth Kappa's efforts, Zimbabwe secured a 12-run victory via the DLS method.
South Africa v Afghanistan
Toss: South Africa opt to bat
Result: No result
South Africa, batting first at the Braam Fisherville Sports Complex in Johannesburg, struggled against Afghanistan's bowling.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Steve Stolk reached double figures opening the batting, but couldn't sustain their innings.
David Teeger played the anchor role at No.3, but South Africa was reduced to 125/7 before rain stopped play.
Leg-break bowler Khalil Ahmad took three wickets for Afghanistan. The match ended without further play, but Afghanistan continued to show their prowess following a recent win over England.