West Indies will need a special performance to beat England, who have already qualified for the Super Six stage of the ICC Men's Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2024. The group also features hosts South Africa, who are still in contention for the next round
England and the West Indies colts face off in match 18 of the ICC Men's Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2024 at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom, South Africa Friday. England U-19 have already qualified for the Super Six stage with two wins in two, but the Windies' fate still hangs in the balance, making the clash a must-win one. (More Cricket News)
Windies captain Stephan Pascal won the toss for the third time in a row in Group B, and the youngster once again opted to bowl first. The side featuring some finest emerging batting talents, the most famous of them now being Jewel Andrew, Pascal is hoping for a win. Andrew almost gave them a win against hosts South Africa. A 31-run defeat was followed by a convincing five-wicket win against Scotland with Andrew once again emerging as the top-scorer.
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But against England, an equally talented outfit, the Windies will need to play out of their skins. Ben McKinney & Co. opened their campaign with a seven-wicket win against Scotland, then dominated the Proteas in the second outing. After dismissing South Africa for 230 all out, they were declared winners -- by 36 runs (DLS method). They were 137/2 in 28.3 when the match was stopped due to rain.
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West Indies U-19: Stephan Pascal (c), Adrian Weir, Joshua Dorne, Jordan Johnson, Mavendra Dindyal, Jewel Andrew (wk), Nathan Sealy, Tarrique Edward, Nathan Edward, Isai Thorne, Raneico Smith
England U-19: Ben McKinney (c), Jaydn Denly, Noah Thain, Hamza Shaikh, Luc Benkenstein, Charlie Allison, Dominic Kelly, Jack Carney (wk), Eddie Jack, Farhan Ahmed, Tazeem Ali.
This is certainly the group of death with South Africa, with one win and one defeat, still in contention for a Super Six slot.