Pascal and Edward secure Super Six qualification for Under19s
PORTCHEFSTROOM, SOUTH AFRICA (CMC):
A HALF-CENTURY from their captain Stephan Pascal, and a Player-of-the-Match performance from Nathan Edward propelled West Indies Under-19s to a two-wicket win against England Under-19s in the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup yesterday in South Africa.
Pascal hit the top score of 58 off 84 balls, but the Caribbean side required 49 not out off 80 balls from Edward to complete a successful chase of 193 in their final Group B match at the J. B. Marks Oval to secure passage into the Super Six stage of the tournament.
A memorable day for Edward had started with him taking three for 28 from 6.3 overs to be the most successful West Indies bowler and put the skids on England after they were put in to bat and were bowled out for 192 in 46.3 overs.
Ranieco Smith supported with two for 28 from six overs, fellow pacer Isai Thorne and off-spinner Tarrique Edward ended with the same figures of two for 40 from nine and 10 overs, respectively.
West Indies endured an early loss when opener Adrian Weir fell in the first over for a duck, and they were 31 for two in the sixth over when Joshua Dorne was bowled for eight by Farhan Ahmed, brother of senior England international Rehan Ahmed.
In between, Pascal unleashed his strokes, smashing three successive fours in the fifth over to reveal his intent early, and Jordan flaunted his strong back-foot game and matched him almost stroke for stroke.
The Caribbean side finished the first Power Play on 70 for three after Johnson was caught at point off Ahmed in the 10th over, but Mavendra Dindyal and in-form wicketkeeperbatsman Jewel Andrew fell to Tazeem Chaudry Ali for 14 and two, respectively, in the span of 16 balls before they reached 100.
West Indies still held the edge, requiring 95 from 34 overs, and Pascal found support from Nathan Edward, and they played risk-free to rebuild the innings with a stand of 51 and tilt the balance strongly back in their side’s favour.
Pascal reached his 50 from 73 balls, but he fell to Ali with 44 required from 109 balls, and Nathan Sealy was lbw to Eddie Jack and the Caribbean side started to feel the pressure again.
Nathan Edward continued to play his strokes and with his namesake, Tarrique for support carried West Indies within one of the target.
Tarrique was bowled by Luc Benkenstein with the scores level to another piece late drama to an already tense contest, but Nathan sealed the win with a boundary off Ahmed with nine overs remaining.
The result meant West Indies collected two points and now have four, provisionally moving into second in the group behind the English with an inferior net run rate.
Their final position will be determined when hosts South Africa meet Scotland in the final group match today at the same venue. Pascal said during a post-play TV interview he was cramping up, but he understood the responsibility on his shoulders and the importance of setting up the push for victory for his side.
“I was cramping up when I was batting,” he said. “So long as I was in the middle, it was normal, but when I got to the sidelines, my heartbeat was high. “We have shown a lot of passion. It was a lapse of concentration on my part [that saw him lose his wicket], but Nathan [Edward] was up to the task.”