WELLINGTON: Liam Banks and Will Jacks slammed fine centuries as England completed a massive 282-run victory over Canada in a Group C match on Saturday, a result that ensured Bangladesh also qualified for the Super League in the ICC U19 World Cup, says an ICC press release.
England completed the league with three wins to top the group while Bangladesh qualified as the second team after their wins over Canada and Namibia, who will figure in the Plate championship which gets underway on Monday (tomorrow).
In other matches on Saturday, New Zealand defeated South Africa by 71 runs to top Group A, in which the Windies won their first match as they drubbed Kenya by 222 runs. Ireland pulled off a thrilling four-run victory to deny Afghanistan a top-place finish in Group D.
England, champions in 1998, were virtually assured of topping the group before this match owing to their high net run-rate but did not show any complacency against Canada, notching a huge 383 for seven after being invited to bat first.
Centuries from Liam Banks (120, 114b, 12x4, 1x6) and Will Jacks (102, 82b, 11x4), who added 186 runs for the second wicket in just over 30 overs, put them in a position of strength. Left-hander Jack Davies also chipped in with a brisk 36-ball 57 while medium-fast bowler Faisal Jamkhandi and off-spinner Tiaan Pretorius took three wickets each for Canada.
Canada, who needed to get to the target in 37.5 overs if they were to edge Bangladesh for a place in the Super League, barely touched the three-figure mark as left-arm spinner Prem Sisodiya grabbed three for 23 while Adam Finch, Luke Hollman and Roman Walker all finished with two wickets each. Wicketkeeper-batsman Pranav Sharma top-scored for Canada with 24.
England play Australia in the Super League quarter-finals while Bangladesh take on India.
New Zealand elected to bat in a match being played in front of broadcast cameras in Tauranga. Openers Rachin Ravindra (76) and Jakob Bhula (44) produced another century partnership after having put on a mammoth 245-run stand against Kenya in their last game, as the host side posted a total of 279 for eight. Dale Philips (43) and Max Chu (35) also chipped in with useful efforts.
South Africa lost some early wickets but a 106-run stand for the fifth wicket between Hermann Rolfes (108) and Jean du Plessis (54) raised hopes. However, the 2014 champions lost their last six wickets for 26 runs in the face of a high asking rate. Ravindra grabbed four for 32 with his left-arm spin to bag the player of the match award.
In the Super League quarter-finals, New Zealand play Afghanistan while South Africa will run into two-time champions Pakistan.
Afghanistan put Ireland in to bat and restricted them to 225 for eight in their Group D match. Medium-fast bowler Wafadar Momand grabbed three for 50 and left-arm spinner Qais Ahmed took three for 32 even as left-hander Graham Kennedy (37 not out), captain Harry Tector (36), Neil Rock (35) and opener Jamie Grassi (32) were the main scorers for Ireland.
However, Afghanistan’s batting failed to chase the total as Tector came back to take three wickets with his off-spin bowling and Joshua Little took two wickets.
Afghanistan lost wickets at regular intervals and the fall of Mujeeb Zadran and Qais Ahmad towards the end sealed the match for Ireland.
Afghanistan, who had defeated Pakistan by five wickets on the opening day in what was the crunch match of the group thus finished in second place owing to Pakistan’s higher net run rate.
Defending champions Windies registered a 222-run victory over Kenya to secure third position in Group A, scoring a huge 318 for seven after electing to bat.
Alick Athanaze struck a fine 116 (93b, 15x4, 1x6) and Kimani Melius came up with a
45-ball 60.
The Windies, who went out of contention for the Super League after losses to New Zealand and South Africa, then bowled out the Africa qualifier for a mere 96 runs with Bhaskar Yadram grabbing five for 18 and Jeavor Royal finishing with four for 25.
Quarterfinal fixtures: Super League:
Jan 23: England v Australia, Queenstown.
Jan 24: Pakistan v South Africa, Christchurch.
Jan 25: Afghanistan v New Zealand, Christchurch.
Jan 26: India v Bangladesh, Queenstown.
Plate League:
Jan 22: Canada v Papua New Guinea, Christchurch; Namibia v Zimbabwe, Christchurch.
Jan 23: Kenya v Sri Lanka, Christchurch; Ireland v Windies, Christchurch.
Scores in brief: At Bay Oval, Tauranga: New Zealand 279-8 in 50 overs (Ravindra 76, Bhula 44, Philips 43, Chu 35; Molefe 2-49). South Africa 208 in 46.2 overs (Rolfes 108, Du Plessis 54; Ravindra 4-32, Bhula 2-25, Fisher 2-36). Result: New Zealand won by 71 runs.
At Lincoln 3, Christchurch: Windies 318-7 (Athanaze 116, Melius 60, Kallicharan 36; Desai 3-54). Kenya 96 in 24.4 overs (Gandhi 37; Yadram 5-18, Jeavor Royal 4-25). Result: Windies won by 222 runs.
At John Davies Oval, Queenstown: England 383-7 (Banks 120, Jacks 102, Davis 57; Jamkhandi 3-68, Pretorius 3-69). Canada 101 in 31.5 overs (Sharma 24; Sisodiya 3-23, Finch 2-10, Hollman 2-21, Walker 2-25). Result: England won by 282 runs.
At Cobham Oval, Whangarei: Ireland 225-8 (Kennedy 37 not out, Trecgor 36, Rock 35, Grassi 32; Ahmed 3-32, Wafadar Momand 3-50). Afghanistan 221 in 49.2 overs (Shah 35, Stanikzai 33, Tector 3-37, Little 2-40). Result: Ireland won by four runs.