Australia and England got involved in arguably the most exciting game so far in the ongoing U19 World Cup on Thursday. A game that went to the last ball held everyone on the edge of the seat, and in the end, it was Australia who came out on top.
After being asked to bat first, England posted 252-7 in their 50 overs. Opener Ben Charlesworth was the lone warrior as he played a crucial knock of 82 runs and helped his team to reach a formidable total.
England set Australia 253 to win.
A fantastic 60 run partnership between Dan Mousley and Kasey Aldridge 💪
Who will be the happier of the two sides?#U19CWC | #AUSvENG | #FutureStars pic.twitter.com/wCfmVhPD9p
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) January 23, 2020
In reply, the Mackenzie Harvey-led side had a terrible start as both the openers got out cheaply. However, then the skipper and middle-order batsman Lachlan Hearne stitched together a vital partnership of 83 runs and guided their team to a strong position.
But then it was the turn of English bowlers to bounce back in the game, and they shook the Australian team by picking up four wickets for 19 runs to reduce their arch-rivals to 172/6. As if this much drama wasn’t enough, ‘Boys in Yellow’ decided to give England fans a shocker.
Patrick Rowe and Tanveer Sangha took the game deep where the Aussies reached a situation with 40 off 18 needed before Rowe and Sangha got out. England were still in the game, but the tail-ender Connor Sully played an innings (35 off 20) of his life to take his side over the line; he was well supported by Todd Murphy who scored 16 off 10 balls and Australia won the match by two wickets.
Connor Sully and Todd Murphy take a bow 🙌 #U19CWC | #AUSvENG | #FutureStars pic.twitter.com/S0tX92qkhR
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) January 23, 2020
Sully for his ‘Out of the Blue’ performance got the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
Some brutal hitting from today's Player of the Match Connor Sully 🏅 #U19CWC | #AUSvENG | #FutureStars pic.twitter.com/8tjh3ggC3x
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) January 23, 2020
In another match, it was the most consistent side so far in the tournament i.e., West Indies taking on the challenge of Nigeria. The Caribbean team won the toss and opted to bat.
The Windies batsmen made full use of Nigeria’s weak bowling and posted a mammoth score of 303-8 in their 50 overs.
Chasing such a huge target was never going to be easy for the Nigerian batters, and it exactly happened. Windies’ bowler Jayden Seales completely terrified Nigeria’s batting unit and ended up scalping four wickets. Left-arm spinner Ashmead Nedd also joined the party and took three wickets to bundle the Nigerian side on 57 runs.
The Kelvin Anderson-led side won by a massive margin of 246 runs to reach the qualifiers.
West Indies win!
They finish top of Group B with three wins from three 🔝 #U19CWC | #WIvNGA | #FutureStars pic.twitter.com/fZT1etxrb5
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) January 23, 2020
