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Australia and South Africa face early exit

Australia and South Africa face early elimination from the Under-19 World Cup, after further victories for Zimbabwe and Nepal

Wisden Cricinfo staff
19-Feb-2004
Group A Zimbabwe 183 for 2 (Cameron 84*) beat Canada 180 for 9 (Utseya 4-41) by eight wickets
Scorecard
Zimbabwe ran out comfortable winners against Canada in front of another sell-out crowd at the Bogra District Stadium. They cruised home by eight wickets and put the pressure on Australia, who they beat yesterday, ahead of the final Group A fixture, Australia v Sri Lanka, at Rajshahi tomorrow.
Australia must now win that game to ensure they have a better net-run-rate than either Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe to make it through to the Super League.
Zimbabwe, however, did their chances of qualifying no harm by restricting Canada to 180 for 9 and then cruising home with 17 overs to spare. Tinashe Panyangara, Zimbabwe's hero against Australia with six scalps, bowled 10 wicketless overs today, but Prosper Utseya instead lead the attack with 4 for 41.
Zimbabwe lost opener Brendon Taylor with the score on only 16, but James Cameron and Sean Williams then came together to provide the platform. Williams was run out for 35, but Tinotenda Mawoyo helped Cameron complete the win. Mawayo finished on 32 not out, while Man of the Match Cameron was not out on 84.
Group B Nepal 195 for 5 (Gauchan 80*) beat Uganda 194 (Lama 4-40) by five wickets
Scorecard
Nepal moved to within sight of an unexpected place in the Super League, as their five-wicket victory over Uganda piled the pressure onto yesterday's victims, South Africa. Everything now rests on tomorrow's mouthwatering clash between South Africa and England - and all of Nepal will be praying for an English victory.
Nepal were made to work hard for their victory, although it was not quite as nail-biting as their one-wicket win yesterday. Uganda won the toss and elected to bat, and at 91 for 1 in the 28th over, there was scope for an impressive total.
Kintu Wambudhe contributed 46 and Denis Musali made 32, but Lakpa Lama led the fightback, picking up 4 for 40 as Uganda were pegged back to 194 all out in the 50th over. It was then over to Nepal's captain Shakti Gauchan, whose unbeaten half-century had secured that victory over South Africa.
Gauchan followed up with a fine 80 not out to guide Nepal to victory with a comfortable 11 balls to spare. He was ably supported by Monick Shrestha (30) and Sharad Vesawkar (23), and South Africa have it all to do.
Group C New Zealand 389 for 2 (Watling 154, Wilson 144*) beat Scotland 149 (Farid 60) by 240 runs
Scorecard
After their defeat against India yesterday, New Zealand's progress was put back on track when they walloped Scotland by 240 runs at the Bangladesh Sports Institute. This now sets up an intriguing final group match between Bangladesh and India.
If Bangladesh win that game, to be played tomorrow, the group will be decided on net-run-rate, and New Zealand's large winning margin means even that could be tight.
After India and Bangladesh both racked up big scores against Scotland, New Zealand needed to do the same. After they were put in, the batsmen started in a hurry, as Liam Chrisp raced to 48 off 47 balls before falling lbw to Gordon Allan. Bradley-John Watling and Brad Wilson then went into overdrive, putting on 273 for the second wicket before Watling was caught in the 48th over on 154. Wilson finished unbeaten on 144 from 118 balls in New Zealand's impressive 389 for 2.
Then the bowlers provided an equally important contribution as the Scotland batsmen struggled for runs. Wickets tumbled at regular intervals and only a patient innings of 60 from Kasim Farid delayed the inevitable, and Scotland where soon all out for 149 in 33 overs.
"The result was important to us today," said Pulley, New Zealand team manager. "If Bangladesh beat India tomorrow, the group will come down to net-run-rate. Our batsmen got some good time at the crease today and all of our players did their bit. It is now out of our hands and we will be watching the match tomorrow very closely indeed."
Group D Ireland 212 (Vali 4-40) beat Papua New Guinea 142 (Kidd 3-36) by 70 runs
Scorecard
Ireland picked up their first points of the Under-19 World Cup, thanks to a solid team performance against Papua New Guinea. They took West Indies to the wire in their first game, and performed creditably against Pakistan, so it was a deserved victory over the weakest team in Group D.
After being put into bat by PNG, Ireland made steady progress, scoring at around four-an-over from the start. Seven of their batsmen made double-figures, but none could go on to make a telling contribution as they were bowled out for 212 in 49 overs. Andrew Riddles top-scored with 37, while opener Gary Wilson made 36. Vali Vali (4 for 40) and Lahui Davai (3 for 24) shared the wickets for PNG.
There was no rest for Riddles after his important innings, as he returned to open the bowling for Ireland. And it proved to be his day as he dismissed two of PNG's top three batsmen in a five-over burst that cost only eight runs.
Ireland's left-arm spinner Gary Kidd then took charge as Ireland mopped up the PNG lower-order for 142 in 38.2 overs. Kidd finished with figures of 3 for 36, while Riddles was deservedly named man of the match.
Both Ireland and PNG will now compete in the Plate Championship in Chittagong while Pakistan and West Indies - who face each other tomorrow - are already through to the Super League.