Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
HOSTS Zimbabwe have a big game on their hands as they brace for a clash with buoyant England in the ICC Under-19 World Cup tournament at Takashinga Cricket Club tomorrow.
The Young Chevrons were forced into a false start to the campaign when their opening match against Scotland was washed out by rain without a ball bowled at the same venue on Thursday.
It was a game they had hoped to play and win and give them a blistering start to their audacious bid to win the World Cup on home soil.
Zimbabwe are co-hosting the tournament with Namibia.
They will once again be looking up to the skies to make sure the upcoming assignment against England does not suffer the same fate as they hope to fight for the points to increase their chances of progressing to the knockout stages from Group C.
While Zimbabwe are yet to be tested in the competition, England emerged with flying colours yesterday when they defeated Pakistan by 37 runs in a low scoring match at Takashinga.
Defending a low-score of 210, the English bowlers produced a disciplined display to restrict Pakistan to 173.
England were asked to bat first by Pakistan and couldn’t get going with Pakistan making inroads at crucial junctures. With England in a spot of bother at 90/4 in the 19th over, Caleb Falconer and Ralphie Albert put together a 80-run partnership to resurrect the innings.
However, the Pakistan bowlers quickly tightened the screws after breaking the partnership to bowl England out for 210. Ahmed Hussain grabbed three wickets while Ali Raza, Abdul Subhan and Momin Qamar snapped two wickets each.
England came out all guns blazing with the ball to dismiss the Pakistan top order leaving the 2006 winners reeling at 28/3.
Skipper Farhan Yousaf led the counter attack for Pakistan scoring 65 runs but lost partners at the other end at regular intervals.
The English bowlers kept the pressure on the Pakistan batters, not allowing any partnership to blossom.
With the required run-rate shooting, the English bowlers applied the choke to wrap up the Pakistan innings and pick up a crucial win in Group B.
England currently lead the group with two points while Zimbabwe and Scotland shared one apiece from the abandoned match. The hosts need to put up a big shift to upset the 1998 ICC Under-19 World Cup champions.
Pakistan take on Scotland on Monday with both games set to take place at the Takashinga Sports Club in Harare. Upsets cannot be ruled out in this game.
The ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup continued with exciting results yesterday as Afghanistan stunned South Africa in the highlight result of the day as England came out on top in a low-scoring game.
Afghanistan registered an inspiring 28-run win over South Africa in Group D to move level on points with West Indies.
Australia commenced their title defence in style with a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Ireland in Group A.
The tournament continues today with India and Bangladesh headlining the fixtures at Queens Sports Club. The other match will see Japan clashing with Sri Lanka at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek. The tournament is being co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia.
