Fancied England kept its nerve to reach the ICC U-19 World Cup final after prevailing over Afghanistan by 15 runs in an exciting last-four clash here, ending a 24-year wait for the side.
The win has put England in its first U-19 World Cup final since 1998 in South Africa, when it lifted the trophy.
Spinner Rehan Ahmed became the hero for the Young Lions, taking three wickets in the penultimate over at a crucial point when Afghanistan needed just 18 runs from the last 10 balls on Tuesday.
Turnaround
It was a remarkable turnaround for England from the previous tournament just two years ago in South Africa when it finished ninth.
As for Afghanistan, it will head to the Coolidge Cricket Ground for the third-place playoff.
Rain delayed the first of the two super league semifinals at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground after England won the toss and chose to bat.
Afghanistan made a strong start as Jacob Bethell was trapped lbw by Naveed Zadran, an early sign that England faced a difficult task.
Skipper Tom Prest then joined vice-captain Bethell in making an early departure, reducing the team to 56 for two, as the Young Lions struggled to command with the bat.
Opener George Thomas steadied the ship with an excellent 50, but he lacked support from front-line batters.
And when William Luxton was clean bowled by Izharulhaq Naveed, Prest’s team was five wickets down having barely put 100 runs on the board.
However, the rain came again to delay play for a further half hour and led to revised conditions of 47 overs per side.
England’s back-end partnership of 95 from George Bell and Alex Horton then managed to lift the final total to 231.
The earlier interruptions from the weather meant Afghanistan had a revised DLS target to match this score.
In reply, Afghanistan lost opener Nangeyalia Kharote to seamer Josh Boyden off just the third ball of the innings.
But Kharote’s replacement Allah Noor, smashed a huge six to get off the mark and quickly gave his team a platform.
The 18-year-old produced a marvellous knock, which featured eight boundaries as the momentum of the semifinal swung back Afghanistan’s way.
Along with wicketkeeper Mohammad Ishaq, the pair got their team past 90, with Noor making a valuable half-century.
England’s crucial breakthrough came after some wonderful fielding led to a run out for Ishaq with wicketkeeper Horton reacting quickly to a loose throw at the striker’s end.
Noor remained stubborn but eventually went for 60, with Thomas Aspinwall claiming a vital wicket. That set-up a frantic-finish that could have gone either way.
The 44th over for England appeared to have turned the game when two no balls in a row gifted eight runs, before Abdul Hadi (37 n.o.) smashed a huge six to take them to 200. But Ahmed’s late flurry and a nerveless final over from Boyden saw England through.
The scores: England 231/6 in 47 overs (George Thomas 50, George Bell 56 n.o., Alex Horton 53 n.o., Naveed Zadran 2/67, Noor Ahmad 2/32) bt Afghanistan 215/9 in 47 overs (Mohammad Ishaq 43, Allah Noor 60, Bilal Ahmad 33, Noor Ahmad 25, Rehan Ahmed 4/41, Thomas Aspinwall /37). Match reduced to 47 overs; target revised as 231 as per DLS method; England won by 15 runs.
