The 3rd Place Play-Off between Pakistan and New Zealand was abandoned without a ball being bowled at Willowmoore Park, Benoni on Saturday.
Persistent rain prevented any chance of play on the penultimate day of the of the tournament, with the umpires having no option but to call the match off after a 10:45am discussion with the respective team coaches.
As a result, the sub-continent side finished third with a superior ranking on the points table from the group stage.
Both sides had qualified second from their respective groups, with New Zealand finishing behind India after one win, one loss and one abandoned game in Group A.
That gave them three points with the opening stage, two fewer than Pakistan – who won their games against Zimbabwe and Scotland before rain washed out their final Group C match against Bangladesh.
“It’s unfortunate that the game ended as a washout. We were confident of doing well and securing the third spot on the field,” said Pakistan captain Rohail Nazir. “The weather is not in our control as it wasn’t when we had dominated Bangladesh in the group game.
“We had a very good tournament other than the semi-final loss. That defeat has given us some real lessons that will greatly help us in our careers ahead. I’m proud of the way the boys fought and I want to thank the entire management led by the head coach Ijaz Ahmed for their support and guidance throughout.
“The future is bright for this bunch of boys and I wish them the very best in the days ahead. I also would like to thank the ICC for a very well organised event, the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is the pinnacle age-group event, and may it continue to grow from strength to strength.”
WEST INDIES CLAIM FIFTH PLACE AFTER RAINED OUT CONTEST
Australia and West Indies were left frustrated by the weather as their 5th Place Play-Off at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup was abandoned at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.
Despite rain bringing the contest to a premature conclusion, the Windies finished the tournament in fifth position based on the Caribbean islanders’ higher finish in the group stages.
When there was play earlier in the day, the Australians had powered their way to a commanding 319 for eight with half-centuries from Liam Scott, Lachlan Hearne and Cooper Connolly.
The 99-run opening stand from Scott and Sam Fanning as well as the 101-run stand for the fifth wicket between Hearne and Connolly anchored the innings.
Matthew Patrick, with three wickets, was the pick of the mercurial Windies bowling attack as they failed to halt the consistent flow of runs from the Australian batsmen.
In pursuit, the West Indies were 62 for one off 12.3 overs.
The side’s captain, Kimani Melius, had blasted his way to 39 before he was caught by Fanning off Scott, which proved to be the last action of the tournament for either of the sides as the umpires called the players to come off because of rain.
While both teams were unable to live up to their billing on arrival to South Africa as potential favourites for the title, they still found some tournament positives.
“Finishing fifth is not what we would have wanted, but the boys did play well,” said Melius. “I can also say that our preparations were good, one of the positives was being able to approach the game with more intensity.”
Australian captain Mackenzie Harvey added: “We still played good cricket in the tournament despite the results and the squad camaraderie is awesome at the moment.”
Scores:
Australia (U19) 319-8 (50) (Liam Scott 66, Cooper Connolly 64, Lachlan Hearne 58; Matthew Patrick 3-43)
West Indies (U19) 62-1 (12.3) (Kimani Melius 39, Leonardo Julien 14 n.o.; Liam Scott 1-6)
Final Standings
1. Winner of Super League Final
2. Loser of Super League Final
3. Pakistan
4. New Zealand
5. West Indies
6. Australia
7. Afghanistan
8. South Africa
9. England
10. Sri Lanka
11. Zimbabwe
12. Scotland
13. Canada
14. United Arab Emirates
15. Nigeria
16. Japan
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