Australia captain Mitchell Marsh led from the front when he took his side to the final of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2010 with a tight two-wicket victory over a determined Sri Lanka at Bert Sutcliffe Oval on Wednesday.
Australia, chasing 206 for victory, was given a run for its money as Sri Lanka took it right down to the wire before Luke Doran scrambled through to the winning run to give Australia victory with two wickets and nine balls to spare.
Saturday’s victory sets up a mouth-watering final at Bert Sutcliffe Oval between former champions Australia and Pakistan with both the sides having won the trophy twice before. Australia won the inaugural event in 1988 and again in New Zealand eight years ago while Pakistan’s back-to-back titles came in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2004 and 2006, respectively.
It was Marsh’s brilliant efforts with the bat that engineered the win. The skipper scored a masterful 97 in front of ESPN STAR Sports cameras. Marsh was composed and commanding at the crease, punishing anything loose, and driving fluently on both sides of the wicket as his 110-ball innings included 12 exquisitely timed fours.
Marsh featured in a crucial 78-run sixth wicket partnership with wicketkeeper Tom Triffitt after Australia had slipped to 93-5 in 21.5 overs in its run-chase. The skipper had earlier put on 49 runs for the fourth with Jason Floros (21) after Australia was reduced to 38-3 in the 12th over.
Though Marsh departed with 35 runs still needed for victory, Triffitt carried on before he finally returned to the pavilion with four runs required for a place in the final.
Triffitt scored exactly 50 runs off 70 balls with two fours as he concentrated on nudging and pushing the ball in gaps for ones and twos to ensure the scoreboard kept tickling.
A close finish had looked unlikely earlier in the day after the Sri Lanka’s top order was taken apart by Australia’s opening bowlers Alister McDermott and Josh Hazlewood who bowled with a lot of fire and venom, and shared six wickets between them.
Hazlewood finished as the pick of Australia bowlers with 4-26 while McDermott claimed 2-43. Nick Buchanan and Luke Doran also bowled well and bagged with figures of 2-43 and 2-33, respectively.
Sri Lanka had no answer to the pair’s hostile bowling as the 2000 finalist slipped to 32-5. However, Sri Lanka fought back gallantly through Kithuruwan Vithanage, Akshu Fernando and captain Chathura Peiris to reach a competitive 205 in 48.2 overs.
Vithanage scored an impressive 40 off 57 balls with five fours and added 56 runs for the sixth wicket with Fernando who went on to top score for Sri Lanka with 52 off 88 balls with two fours.
Fernando also featured in a 51-run eighth wicket stand with Peiris (39) after Sri Lanka was reduced to 114-7 in 27 overs.
Marsh, who won the Man of the Match award, said he was delighted that his team was getting it right at the right time. “We have played good consistent cricket and we are getting better and better. We work hard on the basics and that’s what brings you through.
“We knew if we bowled well early on and put Sri Lanka on the back foot then we could go out there and chase anything down. It was a credit to our bowlers at the top of the order – and hopefully we can repeat that on Saturday as well.”
Marsh was disappointed not to complete a century. He said: “When you get that close, it’s always nice to go on and get a hundred. But the most important thing for us was to get a win, and that’s what we did.”
South Africa v India
Meanwhile, in the fifth/sixth position play-off match at Lincoln No. 3, South Africa completed a comfortable six-wicket win over India after putting up another accomplished batting display.
Chasing 236 for victory, South Africa made a great start with Dominic Hendricks (63) and David White (77) putting on 124 for the second wicket.
South Africa’s middle-order kept up the momentum as Colin Ackermann scored a run-a-ball 52 not out while Malcolm Nofal (31) saw the side through to a well-paced victory in the 49th over.
Earlier, wicketkeeper Zahid Ali scored a superb 98 to help India recover from a precarious 15-4 and reach 235-9 in 50 overs. Harpeet Singh (56) put India back on track with a 51-run fifth wicket stand with opener Mayank Agarwal (32) while Ali consolidated the innings by finishing with a late flourish as he clubbed nine fours in a 107-ball innings.
South Africa’s opening bowlers Graham Hume and Samuel Mofokeng bowled with a persistent line just outside off stump and were well rewarded for their hard work. Hume finished with 3-31 to walk away with the man-of-the-match award Mofokeng ended up with figures of 3-44.
Meanwhile, in the Plate Championship play-off matches in Napier, Zimbabwe defeated Hong Kong by 138 runs at Nelson Park to finish in 13th position while the USA defeated Afghanistan by nine wickets to claim 15th spot.
Set a victory target of 236 runs, Hong Kong was out of its depth in the face of Zimbabwe’s outstanding bowling and was bundled out for 98.
Zimbabwe’s efforts in the field followed a good performance with the bat, compiling 235-8. Andrew Lindsay (43) and Peter Moor (46) were the mainstays of the innings, combining in a partnership of 89 for the fifth wicket.
USA v Afghanistan
In the 15th/16th position play-off, the USA outsmarted Afghanistan by nine wickets.
Afghanistan, batting first after winning the toss, was bowled out for a paltry 86 in the 33rd over. The USA batsmen scored easily off a wayward attack with Steven Taylor slamming five fours in his 30 runs.
The Plate Championship winds up on Thursday with the final to be played at McLean Park, between Bangladesh and Ireland. Papua New Guinea and Canada will meet in the third place play-off at nearby Nelson Park.
Scores in brief:
Sri Lanka v Australia at Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln - Super League (semi-final)
Sri Lanka 205 all out, 48.2 overs (Akshu Fernando 52, Kithuruwan Vithanage 40, Chatura Peiris 39; Josh Hazlewood 4-26, Luke Doran 2-33, Alister McDermott 2-43, Nick Buchanan 2-44)
Australia 206-8, 48.3 overs (Mitchell Marsh 97, Tom Triffitt 50; Charith Jayampathi 3-34, Chatura Peiris 2-46)
Result: Australia won by two wickets
Man of the Match: Mitchell Marsh
India v South Africa at Lincoln No.3, Lincoln - Super League (fifth/sixth position play-off)
India 235-9, 50 overs (Zahid Ali 98, Harpreet Singh Bhatia 56, Mayank Agarwal 32; Graham Hume 3-31, Samuel Mofokeng 3-44)
South Africa 237-4, 48.5 overs (David White 77, Dominic Hendricks 63, Colin Ackermann 52 not out, Malcolm Nofal 31)
Result: South Africa won by six wickets
Man of the Match: Graham Hume
Hong Kong v Zimbabwe at Nelson Park, Napier - Plate Championship (13th/14th position play-off)
Zimbabwe 235-8, 50 overs (Peter Moor 46, Andrew Lindsay 43, Simon Mugava 38 not out.; Max Tucker 3-32, Aizaz Khan 2-47, Irfan Ahmed 2-67)
Hong Kong 98 all out, 36.4 overs (Ashish Gadhia 16, Nizakat Khan 16; Natsai M’Shangwe 4-18)
Result: Zimbabwe won by 137 runs
Man of the Match: Natsai M’Shangwe
Afghanistan v USA at McLean Park, Napier (Plate Championship Play-off Final 15th/16th)
Afghanistan 86 all out, 32.2 overs (Khushal Rasooli 23; Hammad Shahid 3-18, Saqib Saleem 3-20, Yash Shah 2-16)
USA 87-1, 14.2 overs (Steven Taylor 30)
Result: USA won by nine wickets
Man of the Match: Hammad Shahid
