VISAKHAPATNAM, India, CMC – An undefeated 104 from West Indies Under-19 captain Kraigg Brathwaite carried his side to a morale-boosting, eight-wicket victory over Australia Under-19s in the Quadrangular Youth Series yesterday.
Brathwaite struck 11 fours and one six from 127 balls, as the Young Windies finished on 235 for two, chasing Young Australia’s 232 for six in the ninth match of the series which also features hosts India and their Asian neighbours Sri Lanka.
The slim opener struck off-spinner William Bosisto for the last of his boundaries to formalise the result with 23 balls remaining at the Reddy Stadium.
It was the first victory for YWI in the competition with one match remaining against the hosts, but they have no chance of reaching the Final which is now destined to be a shoot-out between the Indians and Sri Lankans.
Unlike the previous match between the two sides, West Indies Under-19s’ bowlers hit their straps, and the Australians were not so dominant.
Derone Davis was the pick of the Young Windies’ bowlers with two wickets for 33 runs from 10 overs, as several Australian batsmen got starts without carrying on – Kurtis Patterson led the way with 49, William Bosisto was not out on 42, Jimmy Peirson got 32, Travis Head 29, Sam Truloff 21, and Dominic McGlinchey was not out 21.
Brathwaite then got solid support from the YWI the top order – fellow opener John Campbell scored 56, Anthony Alleyne made 29, and Kyle Mayers was not out 33 – as his side marched to victory.
Campbell dominated an opening stand of 105 with Brathwaite before he was dismissed in the 22nd over, Alleyne added 73 for the second wicket with Brathwaite before he departed in the 39th over, and Brathwaite and Mayers linked for 57 unbroken for the third wicket to take the Caribbean side the rest of the way.
Earlier, West Indies Under-19s contained the Australians and made sure none of their batsmen reached 50.
Davis removed openers Cameron Bancroft, the Aussie captain, for 17 and Nick Stevens for 16 to leave the Young Australians stumbling on 40 for two.
Young Windies met defiance when Head came to the crease and put 60 for the third wicket with Patterson before leg-spinner Donovan Nelson removed him in the 30th over.
This helped the YWI to retrieve the situation, as four wickets fell for 76 in the space of 83 deliveries, but Bosisto and McGlinchey boosted the Aussies with an unbroken stand of 56 for the seventh wicket.
West Indies Under-19s face India Under-19s in their final preliminary match tomorrow at the same venue.
The Indians romped to their fifth straight victory, crushing Sri Lanka Under-19s by seven wickets at the Port Trust Diamond Jubilee Stadium in this port city on the south east coast of India.
The Grand Final will be contested on Sunday at the Reddy Stadium, at the same time that West Indies and Australia meet each other in the Consolation Final at Port Trust.
Scoreboard
AUSTRALIA UNDER-19s (maximum 50 overs)
*C. Bancroft c and b Davis 17
N. Stevens c Mayers b Davis 16
K. Patterson c Alleyne b Khan 49
T. Head c Hodge b Nelson 29
+J. Perison run out (Alleyne) 32
S. Truloff run out (Nelson/Khan) 21
W. Bosisto not out 42
D. McGlinchey not out 21
Extras (lb2, w3) 5
TOTAL (6 wkts, 50 overs) 232
B. Chard, J. Muirhead, B. Stanlake did not bat
Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-40, 3-100, 4-121, 5-153, 6-176
Bowling: Greaves 10-1-41-0 (w1); Davis 10-1-33-2; Mayers 9-0-55-0; Campbell 3-0-16-0; Nelson 10-0-39-1; Khan 8-0-46-1 (w1)
WEST INDIES UNDER-19s (target: 233 off 50 overs)
*K. Brathwaite not out 104
J. Campbell c Head b Muirhead 56
A. Alleyne c Muirhead b McGlinchey 29
K. Mayers not out 33
Extras (lb7, w6) 13
TOTAL (2 wkts, 46.1 overs) 235
S. Ambris, K. Hodge, J. Greaves, +S. Katwaroo, D. Davis, A. Khan, D. Nelson did not bat
Fall of wickets: 1-105, 2-178
Bowling: Stanlake 10-1-31-0 (w1); Chard 8-1-39-0 (w1); McGlinchey 10-0-53-1 (w3); Muirhead 10-1-48-1; Bosisto 6.1-0-47-0 (w1); Truloff 2-0-10-0
Result: West Indies Under-19s won by eight wickets (23 balls remaining)
Points: West Indies Under-19s 4, Australia Under-19s 0
Toss: Australia Under-19s
Umpires: S. Hazare, S. Shastri
Matchreferee: S. Chaturvedi
