Ambris mauls PNG bowling attack

West Indies continued to impress in this Under-19 World Cup, thrashing Papua New Guinea by nine wickets at Endeavour Park. PNG were bowled out for 116 in 41 overs after choosing to bat.{{more}} Only three batsmen managed to reach double-figures and that included their captain Christopher Kent, who top-scored with 39. PNG had been reduced to 62 for 6 at one stage, but Nigel Boge and Chad Soper added 38 together down the order to take the score towards 100. Seamer Jerome Jones was among the wickets, picking up three for 15 in a 10-over spell. His victims included the PNG openers. Kyle Mayers also grabbed three wickets in his four overs.

Vincentian Sunil Ambris made a mockery of PNG’s score, going on a rampage in the chase. He smashed nine fours and seven sixes in his 91, off just 43 balls. He made all his runs in an opening stand of 111 – his opening partner, captain Kraigg Brathwaite, remained unbeaten on 17 – and West Indies’ victory was sealed in the 12th over.

Pakistan picked up their second straight win of the tournament, beating Scotland by nine wickets at the Kev Hackey Oval in Buderim. After being asked to field, they bowled out Scotland for 200 and chased the target comfortably.

Mohammad Nawaz picked up 4 for 20 with his left-arm spin, but Scotland would have hoped for a bigger score after starting their innings well. Opener Ross McLean made 59 and was part of a quick opening stand worth 36 with Mathew Cross. McLean and Freddie Coleman added 66 for the third wicket and Scotland were looking good at 146 for 2 in the 33rd over. But a collapse ensued. Nawaz struck and was supported by Ehsan Adil who dislodged two batsmen. The last eight wickets fell for just 54 in 17 overs.

Babar Azam led the way for Pakistan in the chase, smashing an unbeaten ton and was part of an opening stand worth 163 with Sami Aslam, who made 78 off 79 balls. That stand all but sealed Scotland’s fate and Pakistan won with almost 14 overs to spare. Azam finished with 106 not out off 121 balls, hitting 10 fours and two sixes.

Sri Lanka picked up their first win of the competition, inflicting a 195-run defeat on Namibia at Allan Border Field in Brisbane. They cashed in after opting to bat, helped by half-centuries from opener Sebastian Perera and Sandun Weerakkody in the middle order. Sri Lanka’s was a collective batting display, with handy contributions from the rest of their top five as well. They were in a dominant position at 210 for 2 in the 38th over and looked set to go past 300 but ended up losing their next seven wickets for 88 runs. Zhivago Groenewald picked up 3 for 49. However, Sri Lanka, having scored 298 for 9, had done more than enough.

Barring Wian van Vuuren at the top of the order and wicketkeeper Gerhard Erasmus, Sri Lanka’s bowlers faced no resistance with the bat. Van Vuuren made 38, Erasmus was unbeaten on 36 but the rest of the line-up crumbled. Lahiru Madushanka gave the batsmen a tough time, picking up four wickets for 15 runs with his medium-pace. Namibia were bowled out for 103 in 35 overs.