(CMC) – West Indies Under-19s produced a sterling effort to beat South Africa Under-19s by 19 runs yesterday, successfully defending a paltry 126 to tie their four-match Youth One-Day International series 2-2 at Arnos Vale Stadium.
Fast bowler Johann Layne knocked over the first three wickets to finish with three for 34 while left-arm spinner Jaden Carmichael (3-14) and seamer McKenny Clarke (3-23) followed up with three wickets hauls to send the visitors crumbling for 107 in the 24th over.
Only last man Aphiwe Mnyanda with 20 from 21 balls managed to pass 13, and it was his knock, inspiring a 33-run, 10th wicket stand with Asakhe Tshaka (11 not out), which threatened West Indies Under-19s at the end.
With the innings tottering on 74 for nine in the 19th over, the pair came together to stage the best partnership of the run chase as the hosts struggled for the final wicket.
In the end, Carmichael bowled Mnyanda after the 17-year-old had struck three boundaries, to earn Rising Stars a share of the series.
Earlier, Teddy Bishop top-scored with 43 from 46 balls while wicketkeeper Rivaldo Clarke chipped in with 30 also from 46 deliveries as the hosts continued the trend in the series with another low total.
They were the only ones to pass 10 as leg-spinner Dewald Brevis snatched four for 11 and the new-ball fast-bowling pair of Mnyanda (2-19) and Matthew Boast (2-41) tormented the innings with two wickets apiece.
Choosing to bat, Rising Stars slumped to 16 for three in the sixth over behind Mnyanda’s two-wicket burst before Bishop and Clarke combined in a 58-run, fourth wicket stand to repair the damage.
Bishop struck half-dozen fours and Clarke counted three but it was their dismissals, within 17 balls of each other, which triggered the slide which saw the last seven wickets tumble for 52 runs.
In reply, Layne put West Indies Under-19s in charge with the wickets of Ethan Cunningham (3) and number three Brevis (4) in the third over and South Africa Under-19s failed to really recover, as the next seven wickets went down for 45 runs.
McKenny Clarke was particularly destructive in the middle order, grabbing the key wicket of captain George van Heerden for two in the 12th over, as he struck in three successive overs.
West Indies will now turn their attention to the ICC Under-19 World Cup which will be played from January 14 to February 5 in Antigua and Barbuda Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago.
