KIMBERLEY: Connor Sully’s late show brought Australia back from the brink as a two-wicket win over rivals England blasted them into the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup Super League.
The dramatic victory, which saw Sully strike three sixes in the 48th over and hit the winning run off the final ball, saw Australia join West Indies in the Super League after progressing from Group B. When Tanveer Sangha perished to the bowling of Blake Cullen, Australia needed 44 runs from the final four overs with two wickets left. Up step Connor Sully to pull off the seemingly impossible.
The crucial over was the 48th, where Sully slammed three sixes and a four from Cullen’s bowling, the Queensland product single-handedly keeping his side in the contest. The 19-year-old found an able partner in Todd Murphy (16 not out), scoring 35 runs from 20 balls to seal an improbable triumph.
Ben Charlesworth was again in the runs, his 82 giving England an anchor, but late-innings impetus was provided by Dan Mousley (51 not out) and Kasey Aldridge, who chipped in with 32 not out from 25 balls.
Player of the match Sully had a big say with the ball, too, removing Charlesworth, finishing up with two for 39 in his ten overs. But the real drama came in the chase, as Australia tottered from 153-2, to 189-7.
Scores in brief: Australia Under-19s beat England by two wickets: England 252-7 in 50 overs (Ben Charlesworth 82, Dan Mousley 51; Connor Sully 2-39). Australia 253-8 in 50 overs (Mackenzie Harvey 65, Lachlan Hearne 45; Lewis Goldsworthy 2-24).
West Indies Under-19s beat Nigeria by 246 runs: West Indies 303-8 in 50 overs (Matthew Patrick 68, Kimani Melius 65; Peter Aho 2-53). Nigeria 57 all out in 21.4 overs (Abdulrahman Jimoh 17; Jayden Seales 4-19, Ashmead Nedd 3-11).