WINDHOEK, South Africa— Jewel Andrew stroked an impressive half century in an otherwise unimpressive batting display by the West Indies Under-19s in their first warm-up match of the ICC Cricket World Cup against Ireland, which was abandoned due to rain at Wanderers Cricket Ground on Saturday.
Andrew scored 81 from 107 balls with seven fours and three sixes, as the Windies were bowled out for 246 in 42.5 overs after choosing to bat first at the Wanderers Cricket Ground.
However, Ireland, never got the opportunity to begin their run chase with heavy and persistent showers forcing the match to be called off.
Andrew was instrumental in helping the West Indies reach their eventual target after several other batters got starts but failed to carry on.
He added 44 with opener Zachary Carter, who made 26, following the early loss of Tanez Francis for two and then added 36 with captain Joshua Dorne to see the Windies progress to 95 for two in the 17th over.
However, they lost three wickets in quick succession to slump to 117 for five, before Andrew and Jonathan van Lange, who hit a quickfire 28 off 21 balls, put on 47 runs for the sixth wicket.
The Windies then suffered another mini slide, losing three more wickets for the addition of just five runs, to collapse to 169 for eight.
But Andrew found a capable partner in Isra-el Morton, who scored 36 off 33 balls, and the pair carried the regional side past the 200-run mark during a 46-run partnership for the ninth wicket.
And when Jewel was eventually dismissed, the last wicket pair of Morton and Aadian Racha added 31 valuable runs, before the former was run out.
Luke Murray was Ireland’s best bowler with 3-39, while Thomas Ford (2-38) and Febin Manoj (2-57) provided good support.
Summarised Scores
WEST INDIES U19s 246 in 42.5 overs (Jewel Andrew 81, Isra-el Morton 36, Jonathan van Lange 28, Zachary Carter 26, Shamar Apple 15, Joshua Dorne 14, Aadian Racha 11 not out; Luke Murray 3-39, Thomas Ford 2-38, Febin Manoj 2-57).
Meanwhile, after a confident start for England against New Zealand on Friday, ten more sides got much-needed practice yesterday.
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Scotland, Zimbabwe and USA were in action in Zimbabwe whereas West Indies, Ireland, Japan, and Tanzania featured in Namibia.
At Masvingo Sports Club, Masvingo, Pakistan elected to field against fellow Asian rivals Bangladesh, and Ali Raza was right on the mark along with Umar Zaib as the duo ran through the top-order in no time.
The experienced Kalam Siddiki played a lone hand with a feisty half-century (71 off 98 bals), and helped Bangladesh get to 152/7 before rain interrupted the game.
At Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo, India made the most of Scotland’s call to field first, as rising star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took charge early in the innings, with support from Aaron Varghese (61), Vihaan Malhotra (77), and Abhigyan Kundu (55) helping the side reach a mammoth total of 374/8.
The base for India’s batting innings was set by Sooryavanshi, whose explosive 96 came off merely 50 balls, and included nine fours and seven sixes.
In response, Scotland were rocked early when Olly Pillinger lost his wicket to Deepesh Devendran (3/14). A fighting stand between Theo Robinson (30) and Max Chaplin raised hope but the spin of Mohamed Enaan (2/24) and Khilan Patel (3/4) ran through Scotland’s resistance.
The European side eventually managed 112/9 in a rain-truncated game, and fell short of the Indian total by 121 runs (by DLS method).
At Old Hararians, Harare, the tournament co-hosts Zimbabwe got a stern test on the field after asking USA to bat first in Harare. Led by Amrinder Gill’s hundred, the North American side cruised at over five runs an over despite early losses. They made 174/4 in 34 overs of play that was possible before the match was called off.
Dhruv Patel was the standout performer for Zimbabwe, picking two wickets for 15 runs.
At United Cricket Club Ground, Windhoek, a Brilliant effort from Nihar Parmar (3/15) and Kazuma Kato-Stafford (2/32) held Tanzania to 204/9 in the first innings after Japan opted to field first. Captain Laksh Bakrania was the only half-centurion for the African side, and his 53 off 97 balls while batting low down the order played a key role in helping them cross the 200-run mark.
The rain-interrupted game saw the target being reset to 127 off 20 overs.
Japan’s chase was rocked early by disciplined Tanzanian bowling, as three wickets fell within the sixth over mark.
Skipper Bakrania (2/13) and Raymond Francis (3/7) hastened the innings’ end by running through Japan’s middle and lower order in no time, as the African side secured an 81-run win (DLS method). (CMC)
