Windies beat England, enter under-19 World Cup semi-final

Rangiora (New Zealand), Jan.23 (ANI): A five-wicket haul by young Barbadian pacer Jason Holder and half-centuries by Kraigg Brathwaite and Andre Creary,helped the West Indies to beat England in a quarter-final encounter here today.

The West Indies will now meet Pakistan in a semi-final. The Windies defeated England by 18 runs.

In reply to the West Indies' total of 166 in Rangiora, England scored 148.

Rain reduced the quarter-final to a 36-over contest and Azeem Rafiq, the England captain, put West Indies in under testing conditions.

The move paid off quickly, when fast man David Payne had Trevon Griffith caught for 5 in the fourth over and bowled John Campbell in the eighth, but England's bowlers soon met with resistance. Brathwaite's innings - 69 off 96 balls - included only four boundaries and was the anchor, while Creary's aggressive 52 off 53 balls provided momentum.

The pair added 103 for the third wicket in less than 20 overs, setting up a platform, but their dismissals in consecutive overs triggered a collapse. Ben Stokes, who had dismissed Creary, took two more quick wickets and West Indies folded from 135 for 2 to 166 all out. Tim Payne returned to pick up two tailenders to finish with 4 for 19.

The West Indies' defence was launched by Holder, who dismissed England's openers for 0 and 9. Nelson Bolan caused further damage, picking up two more to reduce England to 38 for 4.

The middle order rallied, with several batsmen getting starts, but none converted them.
Ateeq Javid, Stokes and Rafiq scored 20s to keep England in the hunt but John Campbell and Holder struck timely blows. England, at one stage, needed 29 to win with three wickets in hand, but Holder returned to mop up the tail and finish with excellent figures of 5 for 19.


The scores were as follows:

West Indies Under-19 166 (Brathwaite 69, Creary 52, Payne 4-19) beat England Under-19 148 (Stokes 24, Holder 5-19) by 18 runs. (ANI)