#U19CWC - New Zealand, South Africa enter Plate semi-finals

New Zealand, South Africa enter Plate semi-finals

·         Kiwis beat Scotland after Phillips slams 89 off 40

·         South Africa defeats Ireland as Verreynne hits 77

New Zealand and South Africa put aside the disappointment of not qualifying for the Super League of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup by making winning starts in the Plate Championship which decides the 9-16 positions.

New Zealand bounced back from its defeats to India and Nepal in Group D to brush aside Scotland by seven wickets in Cox's Bazar on Thursday.
South Africa, the defending champion who failed to finish among the top two in Group A, breezed past Ireland by eight wickets in another quarter-final in Cox's Bazar.

Scotland was restricted to 181 for nine after electing to bat with left-arm seamer Ross ter Braak claiming three for 34. Owais Shah top-scored for the Scots with 32.
New Zealand made short work of the target as Glenn Phillips smashed 89 in an opening stand of 98 with Daniel Stanley from just 11.4 overs. The 40-ball blitz from Phillips contained 11 boundaries and six sixes.

Skipper Josh Finnie, who remained unbeaten on 30 as New Zealand won in 27 overs, said it was a good start for his team in the Plate championship.
"It's nice to get off to a good start," he said, "We bowled pretty well and picked up wickets at the right time.
"Then Glenn smashed a quick-fire 89 chasing a small target, which was a good way to go about it. Hopefully, we will continue the same way and get through to the final."
Scotland captain Neil Flack conceded New Zealand played better and deserved to win, but his team too could take some positives from the game.

"We showed we can bat 50 overs against a good side," he said. "We need to keep developing and make sure we finish the tournament on a high."
South Africa kept Ireland down to 185 for seven despite an unbeaten 77 by Lorcan Tucker. Willem Ludick and Dayyaan Giliem claimed two wickets each.
Kyle Verreynne hit 77, adding 104 for the first wicket with Liam Smith (49), as South Africa coasted home with four overs to spare. Wiaan Mulder remained unbeaten on 43.
"I think we did well to restrict Ireland to 185 considering it had won the toss and chosen to bat," said South African captain Tony de Zorzi.

"The Irish bowlers tied our batsmen down in the first 10 overs but then Kyle and Liam opened up to put on a century stand and make it easy for us to chase the score.
"We want to represent our country with some pride, so are very keen to do well in our remaining matches."

South Africa await the winner of Friday's match between Zimbabwe and Canada in the Plate semi-final on Monday. New Zealand take on either Afghanistan or Fiji on Tuesday.

Scores in brief:
Plate quarter-final: South Africa beat Ireland by eight wickets in Cox's Bazar
Ireland 185-7, 50 overs (Lorcan Tucker 77 not out; Willem Ludick 2-43, Dayyaan Giliem 2-22)
South Africa 187-2, 46 overs (Kyle Verreynne 77, Liam Smith 49, Wiaan Mulder 43)
Plate quarter-final: New Zealand beat Scotland by seven wickets in Cox's Bazar
Scotland 181-9, 50 overs (Owais Shah 32, Jack Waller 24; Ross ter Braak 3-34, Nathan Smith 2-37)
New Zealand 185-3, 27 overs (Glenn Phillips 89, Josh Finnie 30 not out, Finn Allen 31 not out; Haris Aslam 2-37)
Friday's matches (Plate Championship only)
Zimbabwe v Canada in Cox's Bazar; Afghanistan v Fiji in Cox's Bazar

Bangladesh rely on home advantage and experience to topple South Africa - #U19CWC

Group A preview

Bangladesh rely on home advantage and experience to topple South Africa

·       Scotland aims to finish in the top eight; Namibia targets best-ever finish

·       Mehidy: "South Africa is first up and it is crucial that we make a positive start"

·       De Zorzi:  "Defending the title will not be an easy task, but knowing my group of players and their abilities, anything is possible"

·       Flacks: "The lads are in great form coming into the World Cup. We are full of confidence and have a belief that we can go far in this tournament"

·       Green: "For a small nation, it is a very big honour to compete in the biggest age-group tournament"

·       ICC U19 Cricket World Cup app launched; Event website is now live; ICC to distribute media releases in the lead up to and during the tournament; ICC to provide photographs from warm-up and tournament matches (details below)

Bangladesh hopes to use home advantage and an experienced squad to make a flying start in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Bangladesh 2017 by beating defending champion South Africa in the tournament opener in Chittagong on 27 January.

The Group A fixture in the 16-nation tournament, which features nine Test-playing nations and seven Associate and Affiliate Members – Afghanistan, Canada, Fiji, Namibia, Nepal, Ireland and Scotland – sets the stage for what promises to be an exciting and competitive event.

According to the event format, the top two sides from each of the four groups will progress to the Super League Stage and the bottom two will feature in the Plate Championship.

With Scotland and Namibia the other sides in Group A, a victory for Bangladesh over South Africa will go a long way in helping the host nation top the group and avoid a potential quarter-final clash against a power-packed India coached by batting great Rahul Dravid.


The Bangladesh squad boasts five players who also played in the 2014 event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It includes Mehidy Hassan Miraz, who enjoys the rare distinction of being captain for the second time in a row. The off-spinner and right-hand batsman, who celebrated his 18^th birthday in October, had not turned 16 when he lead the team in the UAE two years ago.

With experience on his side and a recent winning streak against South Africa, both at home and away, Mehidy was confident that Bangladesh, which finished ninth in 2014, will be a force to reckon with on home soil.

"South Africa is the defending champion but we have dominated it since its World Cup triumph," the skipper said, adding: "If we play to our potential, then we know we can beat it.

"South Africa is first up and it is crucial that we make a positive start because then we will have a very good chance of topping the group as we are stronger than both Scotland and Namibia. If we win the group, the pressure will ease a lot."

South Africa's captain Tony de Zorzi admitted the task ahead was not easy, but said his team will attempt to justify its status as the defending champion. Having lost two finals – to Australia in 2002 and to India in 2008 – South Africa proved third time lucky when it defeated Pakistan by six wickets in the UAE to bag the title.

"Defending the title will not be an easy task, knowing the amount of talent offered from around the world, but knowing my group of players and their abilities, anything is possible," de Zorzi said.

"The end-goal would obviously be to defend the World Cup, but as a team we also want to show that we are worthy custodians of this massive honour, and we will do our best to represent our country."

Scotland and Namibia, meanwhile, are determined to show they will not be pushovers as both aim to make the quarter-finals for the first time.

"The squad is thrilled to be part of such a huge event and we all can't wait to get there," said Scotland's captain Neil Flacks.

"Our aim for this World Cup is to finish in the top eight, which means getting out of our group. The lads are in great form coming into the World Cup after a busy summer together. We are full of confidence and have a belief that we can go far in this tournament. We are a closely a knit team which puts us in good stead to go further in the competition."


Namibia captain Zane Green, who along with team-mate SJ Loftie-Eaton will be taking part in his second World Cup, said the aim was to better his nation's best finish of 11^th in Kuala Lumpur in 2008.

"For a small nation it is a very big honour to compete in the biggest age-group tournament," he said. "We are most definitely looking at moving past the group stages and the focus will be to win two of the three group stages. It will not be an easy task but we believe that we have the players to be competitive who can cause a few upsets."

Squads:
South Africa - Tony de Zorzi (capt.), Ziyaad Abrahams, Dean Foxcroft, Dayyaan Galiem, Willie Ludick, Wandile Makwethu, Conner McKerr, Rivaldo Moonsamy, Wiaan Mulder, Luke Philander, Farhaan Sayanvala, Lutho Sipamla, Liam Smith, Kyle Verreynne and Sean Whitehead.
Coach - Laurence Mahatlane

Bangladesh - Mehidy Hassan Miraz (capt.), Jaker Ali Anik,, Saleh Ahmed Shawon Gazi, Mohammed Saif Hassan, Zakir Hasan, Shafiul Hayet, Mehede Hasan, Mohammad Abdul Halim, Joyraj Sheik Imon, Ariful Islam Jony,   Sanjit Saha,  Najmul Hossain Shanto, Saeed Sarker,  Shaif Uddin.
Coach - Mohammad Mizanur Rahman

Scotland - Neil Flack (capt.), Haris Aslam, Ryan Brown, Scott Cameron, Harris Carnegie, Mohammad Azeem Dar, Mohammad Ghaffar, Rory Johnston, Ihtisham Malik, Finlay McCreath, Mitchell Rao, Owais Shah, Simon Whait, Jack Waller, Ben Wilkinson.
Coach - Gordon Drummond and Cedric English

Namibia - Zane Green (capt.), Petrus Burger, Charl Brits,  Fritz Coetzee, Niko Davin, Sj Loftie-Eaton, Mushi Honga,   Burton Jacobs, Lohan Louwrens, Jurgen Linde, Michael Van Lingen,  Chrischen Oliver, Francios Rautenbach, Warren Van Wyk, Eben Van Wyk,
Coach - Rangarirai Manyande

Group A schedule:
27 Jan: Bangladesh v South Africa, Chittagong
29 Jan: Scotland v Namibia, Cox's Bazar
31 Jan: Bangladesh v Scotland, Cox's Bazar; South Africa v Namibia, Cox's Bazar
2 Feb: Bangladesh v Namibia, Cox's Bazar; South Africa v Scotland, Cox's Bazar