Under-19 World Cup - Manny Lumsden and Faisal Shinozada power England and Afghanistan into semi-finals

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England U19 234 for 7 (Mayes 53, Falconer 47, Reddy 2-28, Clarke 2-38) beat New Zealand U19 169 (Reddy 47, Lumsden 5-17, Morgan 2-38) by 65 runs

New Zealand kept England on a leash for much of the first innings, but the batters didn’t throw wickets away as the pressure built, and backed their bowlers to defend whatever total they ended up with. For large periods, the innings remained in a holding pattern.

But England found ways to keep their run rate ticking above four an over, and assembled a competitive score. The first two wickets produced 48 each, with a half-century from Ben Mayes and 42 from Ben Dawkins establishing a sound platform.

Snehith Reddy and Selwin Sanjay chipped at the wickets through the middle overs, but six of England’s top seven crossed double figures, and contributions came from everyone. The total was beefed up by Farhan Ahmed’s unbeaten 29 off 23, which was capped with a six off the last ball of the innings.

New Zealand took a different approach to pacing their innings. Three fours from Aryan Mann in the first two overs set the tone, but he fell early to a sharp catch from Caleb Falconer at short cover. New Zealand, however, remained ahead of the asking rate, at least until the introduction of Lumsden in the eighth over.

He found the outside edge twice in his first six balls, and suddenly New Zealand were 46 for 3. The next nine overs produced just 19 runs with the pressure producing a run-out, Brandon Matzopolous’ struggle ending at 7 off 25.

New Zealand kept losing wickets, but kept themselves in with a sniff, entering the last 12 overs requiring 67 with three wickets in hand.

Lumsden’s reintroduction put an end to those hopes, with three wickets in five balls putting an exclamation mark on an ominous England performance.

Afghanistan U19 315 for 7 (Shinozada 163, Mahboob 89, Wilson 3-52) beat Ireland U19 124 (Bates 34, Aziz 3-21, Aqil 3-36)

There was much less jeopardy for Afghanistan, for whom Shinozada and captain Mahboob Khan, who scored 89 off 79, combined for a 188-run fourth-wicket stand. It helped Afghanistan pile on 315. Reuben Wilson and Oliver Riley chipped in with three wickets each, but Ireland could never get Afghanistan’s scoring rate under control.

Abdul Aziz removed both Ireland openers, and the chase self-destructed with two of the first four wickets falling to run-outs. From 41 for 4, the innings became an exercise in damage control. Legspinner Aqil Khan ripped through the middle order with three wickets, and by the 41st over, Afghanistan had put Ireland out of their misery and marched into the semis for the third time in the last five editions of this tournament.

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