England Under-19s set New Zealand 234-run target in Super Six Clash

THE England Under-19 men’s team has set New Zealand Under-19 a target of 234 to chase in their Super Six encounter of the Under-19 Men’s World Cup at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Friday.

New Zealand captain Tom Jones elected to bowl first, and his team took seven wickets.

As such, English batters, led by top scorer Ben Mayes (54), Caleb Falconer (47), Ben Dawkins (42) and a quick-fire 28 off 23 balls by Farhan Ahmed, stitched together runs to guide their team to a defendable score.

The New Zealand bowling attack was led by right-arm off-spinner Snehith Reddy, who took the wicket of set batsman Ben Mayes when he bowled him for 54 runs in the 35.3 over. He also claimed the scalp of Ralphie Albert (22) in the 41.2 over.

The aggressive Caleb Falconer kept the England scoreboard ticking with his 47 runs, falling short of his half-century after being caught at long-on by captain Tom Jones, off the bowling of Mason Clarke. The fast bowler had also taken the wicket of Sebastian Morgan (3) with the score at 225/7.

New Zealand Under-19 spread the workload across a varied bowling attack, with Mason Clarke leading the way through control and discipline. Clarke returned figures of 2 for 38 from nine overs at an economy rate of 4.22, providing steady breakthroughs. He was supported by Selwin Sanjay, who carried the heaviest load, bowling 10 overs for 1 for 40 while maintaining a tidy economy of 4.00. Jaskaran Sandhu also chipped in with a crucial wicket, finishing with 1 for 29 from seven overs at 4.14, keeping the pressure on through the middle overs.

There were further contributions from Hunter Shore, who claimed 1 for 40 from eight overs despite conceding five runs an over, while Snehith Reddy emerged as one of the more effective options, picking up 2 for 28 from six overs at an economy rate of 4.66. Although Callum Samson (0 for 27 from seven overs, 3.85) and Harry Burns (0 for 26 from three overs, 8.66) went wicketless, Samson in particular bowled economically, helping New Zealand Under-19 to restrict the scoring and maintain control across most phases of the innings.

New Zealand off-spinner Selwin Sanjay ended his allotted 10 overs with one wicket, no maidens, conceding 40 runs at an economy rate of four.

Fall of wickets:
Joe Moores 48/1 (12.3 overs), Ben Dawkins 96/2 (22.3 overs), Thomas Rew 113/3 (27.2 overs), Ben Mayes 148/4 (35.3 overs), Ralphie Albert 175/5 (41.2 overs), Caleb Falconer 211/6 (47.2 overs), Sebastian Morgan 225/7 (49.1 overs).

Teams:
New Zealand Under-19 (Playing XI): Aryan Mann (WK) (in for Marco Alpe), Hugo Bogue, Tom Jones (C), Snehith Reddy, Jaskaran Sandhu, Brandon Matzopoulos, Callum Samson, Selwin Sanjay (in for Luke Harrison), Mason Clarke, Harry Burns (in for Jacob Cotter) and Hunter Shore.

England Under-19 (Unchanged Playing XI): Ben Dawkins, Joe Moores, Ben Mayes, Thomas Rew (C/WK), Caleb Falconer, Ralphie Albert, Farhan Ahmed, Sebastian Morgan, James Minto, Manny Lumsden and Alex Green.