U-19 WC: England overcomes Afghanistan challenge, makes it to final

A collective effort from the batters and a four-wicket haul from Rehan Ahmed helped England defeat Afghanistan in a nip-and-tuck semifinal contest on Tuesday.

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: The win meant England will play its first U-19 World Cup final since 1998.

England held its nerve to beat Afghanistan on Tuesday at North Sound, Antigua, to qualify for the ICC U-19 World Cup final.

Spinner Rehan Ahmed took three wickets in the penultimate over to tilt the scales in England’s favour when its opponent needed just 18 runs from the last 10 balls. Medium-pacer Joshua Boyden gave away just two runs in the final over as England won by 15 runs in a semifinal contest reduced to 47 overs per side due to rain.

England lost two wickets within the first 10 overs after choosing to bat. Opener George Thomas (50, 69b, 4x4, 2x6), No. 6 George Bell (56 n.o., 67b, 6x4) and No. 7 Alex Horton (53 n.o., 36b, 5x4, 1x6) scored half-centuries as England posted 231 for 6 in its 50 overs. Bell and Horton added 95 runs in an unbroken partnership after England was reduced to 136 for 6 in the 36th over.

Bell and Horton were belligerent against Afghanistan’s seamers during the business end of the innings.

Shaky start

Afghanistan had a shaky start in reply, opener Nangeyalia Kharote dismissed by Boyden in just the third delivery of the innings. No. 3 Allah Noor smashed a huge six to get off the mark and quickly gave his team a solid foundation.

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Noor played a magnificent innings of 60 (87b, 5x4, 3x6) to keep his team well in the hunt. Noor and Mohammad Ishaq added 93 runs for the second wicket. England’s crucial breakthrough was made possible by some alertness in the field by wicketkeeper Horton, who reacted quickly to a loose throw at the striker’s end.

Noor remained stubborn at one end even as wickets fell around him, but was eventually dismissed by Thomas Aspinwall in the 47th over. That set-up a frantic-finish that could have gone either way.

The 44th over appeared to have turned the game around when two no balls in a row gifted Afghanistan eight runs, before Abdul Hadi (37 n.o.) smashed a huge six to take the team to 200. But Ahmed’s late flurry and a nerveless final over from Boyden carried England over the line.

The win meant England will play its first U-19 World Cup final since 1998. It has been a remarkable turnaround from England after having finished ninth in the last U-19 World Cup two years ago.

• England 231 for 6 in 47 overs (Bell 56 n.o., Horton 53 n.o., Thomas 50) beat Afghanistan 215 for 9 in 47 overs (Noor 60, Ishaq 43, Ahmed 4 for 41)