West Indies surprise England in Youth World Cup

Karachi, Jan 13: If West Indies superstars were struggling at international arena, the next generation was going great guns.

In the Youth World Cup at Colombo on Thursday, West Indies Under-19 surprised defending champions England by 98 runs at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SCC) in a Group A match, according to information made available here. The victory made the West Indies two out of two and now confirm berth for the second stage which is going to be Super League.

West Indies, batting first after winning the toss, scored 196 before being dismissed in 48.3 overs. But they bowled well to bundle out young lions for 98 in 36 overs. Skipper R.O Hinds was West Indies top scorer with 69. His 83-ball knock was laced with seven fours and a six. N.Deonarine was the second highest scorer with 44. He faced 82 balls and hit three fours.

After the West Indies were reduced to 12 for two, K.Wilkinson (24) added 42 runs for the third wicket with Deonarine. For the fourth wicket, Deonarine put on 69 runs with his captain off 79 deliveries. For the sixth wicket, Hinds added 50 runs from 34 balls with C.Lopez who scored a 18-ball 21 with three fours.

For England, new ball bowler T.J Murtagh bowled exceeding well and finished with four for 26 from his 9.3 overs. He received excellent support from skipper A.G.R Loudon who bagged three for 41 from six overs and J.E Bishop who snapped up two wickets for 28 runs from his nine overs.

England's dismal response featured three run-outs and just three scores in double figures with extras the top contributors with 22. Loudon scored 19, wicket-keeper MA Wallace and Bishop 10 each.

J.Lawson, who recorded a hat trick in the first match against Zimbabwe, finished with two for 23 while R.Sooklal picked up two wickets for 11 runs.

Zimbabwe beat America: Zimbabwe defeated America by eight wickets to set up a decisive Group A clash with England on Saturday. With both Zimbabwe and England having one win from two games, Saturday's winner will qualify for the Super League. Two teams from each of the four Groups will qualify for the second round.

Zimbabwe dismissed America for 95 in 42.1 overs. Skipper Bagai was the top scorer with 26. Extras contributed 24 while opener C.Foggo was the only other batsman to reach double figures with 16. Masakadza (two for one), Sherren (two for 23) and Ervine (two for 27) shared wickets.

Zimbabwe reached the target in 23.2 overs with C.Croxford scoring 34 not out. A.Maragwede (24) and M.Munson (20) were the other leading scorers.

Australia Reach Super League: Australia qualified for the Super League stage after beating Ireland by 63 runs in their second Group D match. Two half centuries and four scores of 20s propelled Australia to 240 in 49.4 overs. Opener L.Buchanan and S.Marsh were the joint top scorers with 58 each while N.Hauritz (29), A.O'Brien (27), M.J Clarke (23) and M.Baker (22) were the other notable scorers. C.Armstrong (three for 23) and J.Gardiner (three for 46) were the wicket-takers.

Ireland, in their turn, were restricted to 177. K.Spelman (37), R.D McGerrigle (29) and D.Joyce (22) were the main run-getters. Clarke was the most successful Australian bowler with three for 16. Baker (two for 17), Hauritz (two for 32) and O'Brien (two for 38) were the other wicket-takers.

Sri Lanka forge ahead: Hosts Sri Lanka booked a place in the next round with a seven wickets victory over Namibia in the other Group D match. Sri Lanka now meet Australia in the last league match on Saturday which will only determine the group champions.

Sri Lanka dismissed Namibia for 93 runs in 44.2 overs and then raced to victory in 20.4 overs. Skipper K.M Gajanayake (43 not out) and G.I Daniels (25 not out) added 81 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket after the top three batsmen had returned to the dressing room with the scoreboard reading 15 in 3.4 overs.

Friday's Fixtures: Pakistan vs Nepal, South Africa vs Kenya (both Group C matches), New Zealand vs Bangladesh, India vs Netherlands (both Group B matches)