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Pakistan, Zimbabwe and South Africa script crushing wins
Shahzaib Khan continued his stunning run of form, slamming an unbeaten 80 to take Pakistan past New Zealand by ten wickets in their men’s Under-19 World Cup match in East London, but the canter was really set up by the bowling unit.
New Zealand, after electing to bat first, were 28 for 3 in seven overs, Luke Watson, Tom Jones and Snehith Reddy all falling to Ubaid Shah’s pace. There was a bit of a fightback, first courtesy Oliver Tewatiya (29) and captain Oscar Jackson (12), and then a more substantial one from Tewatiya and top-scorer Lachlan Stackpole (41), adding 61 runs for the fifth wicket. But New Zealand, who had recovered from their wobbly start to reach the halfway mark at a relatively respectable 116 for 4, collapsed again.
Stackpole and Tewatiya were both dismissed by offspiner Naveed Ahmed Khan between the 26th and 28th overs, and this time, there were no fight-backs. New Zealand folded for 140, with left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas returning spectacular figures of 3 for 6 from five overs.
Pakistan were unlikely to be tested too much by that target, and with Player of the Match Shahzaib hitting 80 in 86 balls, with ten fours and three sixes, and Shamyl Hussain scoring 54 in 66 with six fours and two sixes, they rushed to the target in just 25.2 overs. That made it three in three for Pakistan, taking them top of the Group D table, with New Zealand in second place. Yesterday, Nepal became the third team to qualify for the Super Six stage from the group after a thrilling win over Afghanistan.
Brief scores:
Pakistan Under 19s 144 for 0 in 25.2 overs (Shahzaib Khan 80*, Shamyl Hussain 54*) beat New Zealand Under 19s 140 in 38 overs (Lachlan Stackpole 42, Oliver Tewatiya 29; Arafat Minhas 3-06, Ubaid Shah 3-30, Naveed Ahmed Khan 2-26) by ten wickets
It wasn’t the most entertaining contest, but after 85.3 overs in which 293 runs were scored and only ten wickets claimed, Group C had its third Super Six qualifier – Zimbabwe.
Namibia, who had earlier lost to Australia and Sri Lanka, the top-two sides in the group, but had at times looked a stronger side than Zimbabwe, came undone when it mattered the most. Their batters just couldn’t get going against the likes of Ryan Simbi (3-20), Newman Nyamhuri (4-21), Kohl Eksteen (1-18) and Mathew Schonken (0-26), who combined for returns of 8 for 85 from 38 overs.
The result was 146 for 8 from 50 overs. It could have been worse, but Hanro Badenhorst and Woutie Niehaus combined for 46 unbeaten runs for their ninth-wicket stand – in 13.1 overs! – to give Namibia a bit more than they might have expected at 100 for 8 in the 37th over.
The chase was straightforward. Ryan Kamwemba fell with the total at 21 in the fifth over, but fellow opener Panashe Taruvinga batted through the chase to finish with 59 from 115 balls, and Brandon Sunguro (29) and Campbell Macmillan (10*) gave him the support he needed to complete the job in 35.3 overs.
Brief scores:
Zimbabwe Under 19s 147 for 2 in 35.3 overs (Panashe Taruvinga 59*, Brandon Sunguro 29; Jack Brassell 1-24) beat Namibia Under 19s 146 for 8 in 50 overs (Hanro Badenhorst 39*, Gerhard Janse van Rensburg 23, Alexander Busing-Volschenk 22; Newman Nyamhuri 4-21, Ryan Simbi 3-20) by eight wickets
Steve Stolk smashed Scotland into submission (Cricinfo)Steve Stolk and Dewan Marais smashed a combined 15 fours and 11 sixes to help South Africa pummel Scotland in Potchefstroom.
Jamie Dunk and Owen Gould’s 90s had taken Scotland to a competitive 269 for 9, but Stolk’s blitz ensured their campaign wouldn’t enter the Super Six stage.
Stolk was in the mood for boundaries from the start. He kicked off the chase with three fours off Qasim Khan, and followed it up with a 34-run over, with five sixes and a four, also off Qasim to reach his half-century in a remarkable 13 balls. South Africa’s fifty came up in just 18 balls.
Gould, who brought himself on in place of Qasim, was caught in Stolk’s whirlwind as South Africa reached their hundred in 7.1 overs. Nikhil Koteeswaran slowed things down a bit by removing both openers – Stolk and Lhuan-dre Pretorius – in the space of 11 balls. Just a temporary slowdown.
Marais started sedately start along with Tristan Luus, but then launched a flurry of boundaries as South Africa passed 200 in 20 overs, the target within sight. He belted two fours and a six off Koteeswaran, four fours off Adi Hegde, and three off Logan Briggs as the final three over of the 27-over chase went for 55 runs.
South Africa had put Scotland in to bat earlier in the day, and Dunk oversaw a slow but solid start. Riley Norton got Hegde right after a 27-run opening powerplay, but Dunk found support in a 57-run stand with Alec Price followed by a 115-run stand with Gould as Scotland reached 200 at a run rate of 4.76.
Dunk fell to Norton but Gould’s presence coupled with a cameo from Uzair Ahmad (23 in eight balls) brought 69 runs in the last eight overs. Kwena Maphaka removed Gould in the final over before three run outs closed the innings.
Brief scores:
South Africa Under 19s 273 for 3 in 27 overs (Steve Stolk 86, Dewan Marais 80*, Luhan-dre Pretorius 22, David Teeger 43*; Nikhil Koteeswaran 2-52) beat Scotland Under 19s 269 for 9 in 50 overs (Owen Gould 97, Jamie Dunk 90, Uzair Ahmad 23; Riley Norton 3-48, Kwena Maphaka 2-53) by seven wickets
(Cricinfo)
The aid group Doctors Without Borders has reported recovering 11 bodies and rescuing dozens of people off the coast of Libya as it criticised the migration policies of the North African country and European countries.
In a statement on Friday, the group, known by its French initials MSF, said its Geo Barents rescue vessel managed to recover the bodies following a search operation lasting more than nine hours after being alerted by German nongovernmental organisation Sea-Watch, which also rescues refugees and migrants.
“As we cannot determine the reason behind this tragedy, we know that people will continue to take dangerous routes in a desperate attempt to reach safety, and Europe must find safe and legal pathways for them,” MSF said in a post on X. “This catastrophe must end!”
Sea-Watch said it is unclear whether the bodies were victims of a previously unknown shipwreck, adding that they tried to contact Libya’s coastguard to go and retrieve the dead, but received no reply.
“The so-called Libyan coastguard – financed by the EU – ignored our call demanding that the bodies be recovered,” the group said.
Thousands of people trying to head from Africa to Europe use Libya as a departing point, with the Italian island of Lampedusa the nearest European destination as they undertake the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to escape war, poverty and persecution.
Italy, which wants to put a stop to the migration stream, has said Libya and neighbouring Tunisia must do more to stop people from going to sea. It has also clamped down on the operation of the rescue ships, arguing that they encourage people to head to Europe, a charge that is denied by the charities.
Emphasising its policy on the rescue ships, Italy said on Friday that it forced the MSF rescue vessel to take the 165 people that it had saved from boats in the Mediterranean operation to the northern port of Genoa. The port was more than 650 nautical miles (1,200km) from their position and much farther than the more convenient ports in nearby Sicily, significantly delaying assistance to the rescued.
The route in the central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world, with the United Nations registering more than 20,000 deaths and disappearances in the area since 2014.
More than 3,000 refugees and migrants went missing in 2023 while attempting to use the route, according to the International Organization for Migration.
According to Italy’s interior ministry, the number of arrivals in the country has dropped in 2024 to fewer than 21,800 people since the beginning of the year, compared with close to 53,300 in the same period last year.
[Aljazeera]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
Afghanistan boosted their Super Eight chances with yet another dominating win, this time thumping New Zealand by 84 runs in Providence. Having beaten Uganda by 125 runs in their opening match, they are now at the top of Group C with a net run rate of 5.225.
After being sent in, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave Afghanistan a start of 103 in 14.3 overs. It came off the back of the 154 the pair added against Uganda, thus making them the first opening pair to register two successive century stands in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Afghanistan’s was an innings of two halves. They scored 55 for no loss in the first ten overs and 104 for 6 in the last ten, with Gurbaz contributing 80 off 56 balls. New Zealand, who had decided not to play any warm-up games, looked every bit rusty as their fielders dropped catches and missed run-out opportunities.
With the pitch assisting both seamers and spinners, chasing 160 was not going to be easy. But few would have expected New Zealand to collapse in the manner they did.
Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up three wickets in the powerplay and Rashid Khan three just after it. Eventually, both ended with identical figures of 4 for 17 as New Zealand were bowled out for 75 in the 15.2 overs. Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry were the only New Zealand batters to reach the double digits.
Trent Boult found some swing in the opening over but Gurbaz and Ibrahim showed their intent by picking up three fours off Henry from the other end. Both batters had luck on their side, too. Gurbaz got a second life when he skipped down the track to Santner and missed the ball, which went on to brush the leg stump but the bails did not budge. In the following over, Finn Allen dropped Ibrahim off Henry at the deep-square-leg boundary.
That was not all. Gurbaz got another reprieve after being involved in a miscommunication with Ibrahim. Having taken off for a single, Gurbaz had to retrace his steps and would have been run out had Conway not fumbled the throw.
Two balls later, New Zealand finally seemed to have found success when Santner pinged Ibrahim’s pads and umpire Kumar Dharmasena ruled it lbw. But the batter got the decision overturned on review as the ball was heading down the leg side. Immediately after that, Ibrahim hit Santner for an inside-out four as Afghanistan ended the powerplay on 44 for no loss.
New Zealand went against the prevailing wisdom of not bowling an offspinner when two right-hand batters at the crease, and Michael Bracewell repaid that faith by conceding only six off his first two overs.
Lockie Ferguson was even more frugal, going for five in his first two. He could have had Ibrahim off a slower full toss but a leaping Kane Williamson failed to pull off a one-handed stunner at mid-off. That meant while Afghanistan remained unscathed, they had only 55 on the board after ten overs.
Afghanistan had not hit a single six in the first ten overs, but there were five in the next three, including three in one Bracewell over as Gurbaz and Bracewell stepped on the accelerator. The pair took the side past 100 in the 14th over. New Zealand finally broke through when Ibrahim bottom-edged a short ball from Henry onto his stumps, after having been hit on the grille on the previous delivery.
Promoted to No. 3, Azmatullah Omarzai played his part with 22 off 13, which included two sixes in three balls off Henry. Mohammad Nabi fell for a first-ball duck but Gurbaz kept finding the boundary at regular intervals. However, a three-wicket, three-run final over by Boult kept Afghanistan to 159.
Farooqi gave Afghanistan a dream start with the ball. With the very first delivery of the innings, he uprooted Finn Allen’s leg stump as the ball moved in late. In the seamer’s next over, Conway pushed at one that seemed to come slower off the surface and was caught at extra cover.
The decision to give Farooqi a third over in the powerplay brought further rewards. This time, bowling around the wicket to Daryl Mitchell, he got a length delivery to just straighten and take the outside edge. Gurbaz took a regulation catch to complete the dismissal and leave New Zealand 28 for 3.
It could have been worse for New Zealand. In between, Naveen-ul-Haq had rapped Kane Williamson’s front pad after the batter had moved across to play a delivery. Afghanistan sent it upstairs for an lbw review but the umpire’s call saved the New Zealand captain.
Afghanistan did not have to wait too long for Williamson’s wicket. Rashid brought himself on after the powerplay and struck straightaway as Williamson guided one to first slip. But Rashid was just warming up. In his next over, he dismissed Mark Chapman and Bracewell off successive deliveries to leave New Zealand on 43 for 6. Chapman went for a pull and got bowled; Bracewell was late to bring his bat down and was lbw.
Phillips was New Zealand’s last hope. He did hit a couple of boundaries but was soon caught at long-on when he tried to take on Nabi. That ended any hopes of revival New Zealand might have had.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 159 for 6 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 80, Ibrahim Zadran 44, Azmatullah Omarzai 22; Trent Boult 2-22, Matt Henry 2-37, Lockie Fergusoan 1-28) beat New Zealand 75 in 15.2 overs (Glenn Phillips 18; Rashid Khan 4 for 17, Fazalhaq Farooqi 4 for 17, Mohammad Nabi 2-16) by 84 runs
[Cricinfo]
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