West Indies suffered a tough loss to Australia in the ongoing ICC Under-19 Men’s World Cup. In a fixture played at the Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe on January 28, the young Windies put on a valiant effort but fell short, diminishing their chances of advancing to the next round.
The West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first. The Australians got off to a flyer, with openers Will Malajczuk and Nitesh Gershom Samuel putting on 73 runs from just 56 deliveries for the first wicket. Samuel brought up a well deserved half century, scoring 56, while Malajczuk was unlucky to miss the milestone, falling for 48. However, the best was yet to come for the Australians with the bat.
Skipper Oliver Peake played a captain’s knock, bringing up a fantastic century with 109. His innings, coupled with a well played 45 from Alex Young, lifted the group leaders to an intimidating 314 for seven from their 50 overs. Jakeem Javier Pollard was the pick of the bowlers for the Windies, claiming two wickets for 37 runs.
The Windies got off to a strong start thanks to in-form opening batsman Zachary Carter. Carter and his partner Tanez Francis put on 88 for the first wicket. After Francis was dismissed, Carter soon followed for a well played half century, and the Windies needed to rebuild. That rebuilding effort came through their captain Joshua Dorne, who top scored with a battling 62. Dorne’s innings featured partnerships with Jewel Andrew and Kunal Tilokani, who contributed 44 and 35 respectively.
As the innings progressed, Australia tightened their grip and significantly restricted the scoring rate. The efforts of players such as leg break bowler Nathan Cooray, who completed his ten overs with an impressive economy rate of 3.80, left the Windies needing to score at more than 10 runs per over in the closing stages. It didn’t help that the team lost wickets at regular intervals with Charles Lachmund bagging four wickets for 66 runs.
The team could not get over the line, eventually falling 22 runs short.
The West Indies’ hopes of qualifying for the next round are now fading fast, as the road ahead looks increasingly difficult for the young side. Heavy defeats to both Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in their remaining matches would be required for them to advance to the semifinals.
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