BECKENHAM: A consistent display with bat and ball from the England Under-19s saw them claim a series-winning 76-run victory over South Africa Under-19 (SA U19) in the decisive third Youth ODI at the Kent County Ground in Beckenham on Monday.
England defended a challenging target of 271 to seal a 2-1 series win. South Africa won the opening ODI before England hit back to win the next two.
After winning the toss and putting England in to bat, South Africa struck in the third over with the score on 22 when Michael Kruiskamp claimed the wicket of the in-form Ben Dawkins for eight.
Just five runs later, Kruiskamp claimed his and South Africa’s second wicket off the final ball of the fifth over. Ralphie Albert edged one to wicketkeeper Muhammed Bulbulia for just three.
It was a strong first 10 overs for South Africa, who then reduced England to 41 for three when opener Will Bennison chipped one back to bowler Ntando Soni (2/55) for 15.
England then took control through a strong partnership between Rocky Flintoff and Caleb Falconer. The pair added 105 for the fourth wicket, with Falconer scoring a fluent 79 off just 67 balls.
Soni then had Falconer caught on the leg-side boundary for 79 as South Africa tried to wrestle back the momentum from the hosts.
Twenty runs later, Vihan Pretorius (1/32) picked up his first wicket. Robbie Bowman was caught at long-on for 12, leaving England on 166 for five with fewer than 20 overs remaining.
As the home side looked to accelerate, captain Jason Rowles (1/37) struck. Flintoff’s patient innings came to an end when he was caught at long-on by Riley Miller for 55 off 76 balls, leaving England on 189 for six.
Jack Nelson and Charlie Taylor fell within a run of each other. Both were dismissed by left-arm seamer Kruiskamp, giving him figures of 4 for 44.
England had Manny Lumsden and James Minto to thank as they lifted the hosts from 207 for eight to 256 for nine.
Lumsden made 38 from 25 balls before he was bowled by Paul James (2/12). Minto’s unbeaten 21 from 27 balls was the perfect foil as Lumsden helped take England past 250.
Ali Farooq was the last man out for four in the final over. He was caught by Rowles off the bowling of seamer James.
Unfortunately for South Africa, the reply never really got going as skipper Rowles’ 85 from 97 balls (9 fours, 2 sixes) was the only substantial contribution from the visitors.
Wickets fell regularly, and South Africa were unable to build a significant partnership. Rowles and Paul James shared a 44-run stand, which proved to be the visitors’ highest partnership.
James contributed 28 from 43 balls, but it was England’s bowlers who dominated the second innings.
Spinners Jack Nelson and Farooq combined to take 6 for 86 from 13 overs, with both finishing with identical figures of 3 for 43.
Minto was impressive with the new ball before adding two more wickets later in the innings. He finished with figures of 3 for 21 from eight over as the visitors were bundled out for 195 in 43.3 overs.
The Youth Test series begins at the same ground in Kent from 10 – 13 July.
Source: cricket.co.za
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