AUS U19 VS ENG U19 SUPER SIX MATCH 5

Right then, that's all from this clash between two old rivals where Australia Under-19 came up trumps to solidify their position at the top of the standings in Group 2. We will have a day's break in the Super Six action but there is still a game to look forward to on Thursday, 1st of February in the 2024 Under-19 World Cup. It will be Scotland taking on Namibia in the 16th Place Play-off fixture. The game will begin at 1.30 pm GMT (8.00 am GMT), but our build-up will begin much sooner. Until then, take care and goodbye!

Hugh Weibgen, the victorious captain of Australia Under-19, says they got to a good start with Harry Dixon batting beautifully and the middle order getting them to a good total of 266. Adds that everyone knows their roles pretty well and has contributed in all the departments. He then says that in the first couple of games, they tried to go hard and eventually decided to take it nice and slow and give themselves the time initially after which they could go big in the end. Appreciates Callum Vidler and says the bowling lineup with that depth makes it easy for him as a captain. He concludes that their plan will be to win each game and play well.

The captain of England Under-19, Ben McKinney says that Australia played much better. Adds that they gave away 50 runs too many. On the dropped catch of Hugh Weibgen, he replies that Luc Benkenstein is one of the best fielders in the team and these things can happen in cricket. Mentions that the way they chased in the first two games was brilliant. Adds that they have chased with good control in the past but couldn't do it in this game. On the DLS revised target, he replies that they had the two most destructive players in the team out there and they were confident but it did not happen. States they did not perform well against West Indies but were hopeful of beating the Aussies. Ends by saying that they will look to beat Zimbabwe and hopes that they can go through.

The skipper of Australia Under-19, Hugh Weibgen is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his stellar ton. He says this century is right up there and the win makes it even more special. He adds that they have played a few games on this ground and know the ball will turn and there will be variable bounce and have gotten used to the conditions. He then talks about his innings and says he was just trying to get ones and twos and go big in the end. He also says that against the pace it was a bit easier and luckily he got dropped on 19 after which he played shots only on the bad balls, especially for the spinners. He says in the last game he tried to play with a cross bat and here he managed to play straight which helped him score better.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, after being inserted into bat, Australia Under-19 suffered an early setback, losing Sam Konstasm in the first over. Coming in at number 3, the Aussie skipper, Hugh Weibgen, joined hands and saw through that tricky initial phase with Harry Dixon. As the innings progressed, both batters grew in confidence and got to their respective fifties to lay a solid platform. After Dixon fell, Australia stuttered in the middle phase due to the loss of wickets at regular intervals. Amidst all this, Weibgen kept going and brought up his first hundred of the competition. Upon his departure, Rafael Macmillan took over and gave Australia a strong finish with support from Ollie Peake. For England Under-19, Theo Wylie was the pick of the bowlers, with figures of 4 for 42 from his 10 overs. Sebastian Morgan and Tazeem Ali chipped in with a wicket each.

On the other hand, the runners-up of the previous edition, England Under-19 have been handed a heavy defeat here in their opening Super Six game. As a result, their semi-final hopes now hang by a thread but they are still mathematically in with a chance. England needed to start well with the bat, more so because they leaked plenty towards the end of their bowling effort. The two English openers were keen to make the first Powerplay count, and it was visible in the approach of the skipper, Ben McKinney. Despite the early loss of Theo Wylie, McKinney kept finding boundaries with regularity to give his side a brisk start. However, he failed to kick on as did Hamza Shaikh and Noah Thain which left them in a whole lot of trouble before the arrival of lightning, which subsequently brought rain. Having lost that many wickets, England were left with the monumental task of chasing a DLS revised target of 215 runs in 24 overs. With 155 runs needed from 87 balls, the English batters had to throw their bats at everything. It did not work out for them as they kept losing wickets one after the other to be bowled out for 104.

Australia Under-19 march on with a comprehensive victory! A clinical showing from Hugh Weibgen and his boys to seal a victory by 110 runs (DLS) against old foes, England and they now find themselves even closer to sealing that semi-final spot. Having put a daunting total on the board, Australia would have been confident enough to defend it. As he did in the last game, Callum Vidler got the Aussies an early inroad yet again. Charlie Anderson was not able to keep things quiet as Ben McKinney took him on. Vidler cut the English skipper's stay short before going to strike off successive overs. Vidler was amidst a sensational spell whereas Tom Straker was in the early stages of his first spell when the proceedings were halted due to lightning. Thanks to Vidler's four wickets before the rain interruption, Australia were able to put England on the mat and it made the job easier for them post-resumption. Rafael Macmillan was introduced immediately after the resumption and in real quick time, he ran through the English batting unit. Tom Campbell and Tom Straker chipped in as well to seal the deal quickly for the Aussies.

OUT! IN THE AIR AND GONE! THAT'S IT! All over for England Under-19! Tom Campbell slows it up and drags his length back slightly, on middle, Tazeem Ali shimmies down the track and goes for a big shot down the ground. He fails to get to the pitch of the ball and skies it high in the air towards wide long on. Sam Konstas runs in off the ropes and takes a safe low catch. Australia Under-19 win by a massive margin of 110 runs!

Quicker through the air, fuller as well, around off, Farhan Ahmed backs away and drills it to wide long off for a single.

Shorter and slower, on middle and leg, Tazeem Ali dinks it from the crease in the air but well in front of long on for a run.

Loops it up nicely, full and on off, Farhan Ahmed steps out and lofts it back over the bowler's head for a single.

Oh, close! How did that miss the leg stump? Tom Campbell tosses this one up nicely on middle and leg, the ball stays low and spins in a bit, Tazeem Ali tries to play at it across the line and misses the ball completely. The ball zips through the leg stump just a whisker away. The keeper fails to grab the ball as well and the batters get through for a single. The umpire calls it byes.

Looks to go full but ends up bowling a high full toss, on the pads, Tazeem Ali flicks it in front of square on the leg side for a single.

Tosses it up now and bowls it on middle, Tazeem Ali can only pat this one back to the bowler off the front foot.

Tazeem Ali is the last batter in for England Under-19.

OUT! STUMPED! What is happening to the English players? Rafael Macmillan darts this one fuller and outside off, Charlie Allison dances down the track aiming to go big and plays all over it. The ball zips through the bat and gets to the keeper. Ryan Hicks collects the ball to his right and misses to get his hands to the stumps but does well the second time around.