West Indies Under 19 got off the mark in their 2024 ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup campaign when they beat Scotland Under 19 by five wickets earlier today in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Scotland U19 were put into bat and were eventually limited to 205-9 in their 50 overs with medium fast bowler Isai Thorne picking up four wickets. After a tricky start, West Indies U19 got over the line with 89 balls to spare, finishing on 206-5 in 35.1 overs.
Windies captain Stephan Pascal won the toss for the second time in a row and chose to field first at Senwes Park.
Scotland openers Jamie Dunk and Adi Hegde added 89 for the opening wicket in a solid start for Scotland, but once Barbadian left arm spinner Nathan Sealy broke the stand, West Indies found a way to consistently pick up wickets to dent Scotland’s charge.
Hegde fell for 32 to Sealy, but Dunk and Alec Price lifted Scotland with a swift partnership of 30 runs that was broken when Raneico Smith got the prize wicket of free flowing Dunk for 57. Price fell a bit later for 31 when Isai Thorne joined in on the act when the right hander played on.
Thorne proved too hot to handle for the middle order, surprising skipper Owen Gould with a quick bouncer that he could only spoon into the air that wicketkeeper Jewel Andrew pocketed gratefully. The medium fast bowler added two more in quick time to reduce Scotland to 171/6.
Bahadar Esakhiel and Ruaridh McIntyre threw the bat around for some crucial runs down the order, but in the end, Scotland had only managed to just cross the 200-run mark.
In reply, West Indies lost three wickets in the Powerplay as Scotland refused to go down without a fight. With Windies wobbling at 45-3 after 8.2 overs, middle order batsmen Jordan Johnson and Mavendra Dindyal settled the regional side down with a counterpunching 45 run partnership.
Just as things looked settled, West Indies lost wickets in a flurry again. Adi Hedge repaid his captain’s faith when he beat the defences of Dindyal for a stroke-filled 29. He claimed an assist for his fellow spinner Qasim Khan a couple overs later when he took the catch to dismiss Johnson for 24.
Fresh off a sensational century in the last game, albeit in a losing cause, Jewel Andrew made sure to see the Boys in Maroon home this time. He was in his element once again as he smashed a half century in no time to push West Indies closer to the finish line.
Nathan Edwards kept his company this time around and the pair put on an unbroken 95 run partnership that made victory look quite routine in the end.
Up next for West Indies U19 is the unbeaten England U19 side on Friday January 25 at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom. Meanwhile Scotland U19 will look to pick up their first points of the tournament against South Africa U19 on Saturday January 26 at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom.
Summarised Scores
Game One:
Scotland U19 205-9 in 50 overs (Jamie Dunk 57, Adi Hedge 32; Isai Thorne 4-46)
West Indies U19 206-5 in 35.1 overs (Jewel Andre 64*, Mavendra Dindyal 29; Adi Hedge 1-21)
West Indies U19 won by five wickets with 89 balls remaining.
Game Two:
Sri Lanka U19 133 all out in 37.5 overs (Supun Wadage 56*; Zacheo Van Vuuren 4-23, Johannes de Villiers 3-19)
Namibia U19 55 all out in 27 overs (Peter Daniel-Blignaut 18; Ruvishan Perera 3-3, Vishwa Lahiru 3-19)
Sri Lanka U19 won by 77 runs.
Game Three:
Nepal U19 197 all out after 50 overs ( Bipin Rawal 39; Arafat Minhas 3-23, Ahmad Hassan 2-12)
Pakistan U19 201-5 in 47.4 overs (Azan Awais 63*, Shamyl Hussain 37; Aakash Chand 3-34)
Pakistan U19 won five wickets with 14 balls remaining.
