Windhoek (Namibia), Jan 21 (IANS) England and Afghanistan marched into the Super Six stage of the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup with flawless group-stage records, after emphatic wins over Scotland and Tanzania, respectively, on Wednesday.

Scotland got off to a good start when they removed Ben Dawkins early, but after that, it was all England as both Joseph Moores and Ben Mayes put together a remarkable partnership of 188 runs.

Joseph Moores scored a solid 81 from 65 balls before falling to Scottish bowler Ross MacDonald. However, Ben Mayes had a record-breaking innings, scoring 191 runs from just 117 balls, which is the second-highest score of any player in the U19 World Cup and also the highest score ever by an English player in this tournament.

He hit 26 boundaries in total: 18 fours and 8 sixes. Ben Mayes ended with one run short of Viran Chamuditha’s record-high individual score. Sebastian Morgan contributed a quick 24 runs from 11 balls as England surpassed the 400 mark to make it 404-6 after their 50 overs. This is the highest team total in the 2026 U19 World Cup so far.

Scotland were unable to respond adequately to their run chase as the opening batter, Theo Robinson, and Thomas Knight were removed within a very short period of time, putting them on the back foot early on in the innings.

Although Finlay Carter and Max Chaplin provided some resistance through the middle order, the target proved to be too much as Scotland were bowled out for 152, resulting in a 252-run defeat.

This victory meant England had secured the top spot in Group C as well as a place in Group 2 of the Super Six. Now, Scotland’s chances of continuing their tournament rely on Pakistan winning against Zimbabwe.

In their Group D match against Tanzania, Afghanistan displayed equal disregard for the bare facts. Tanzania won the toss and opted to bat; immediately, however, they fell under pressure from Afghanistan’s disciplined bowling line-up. Wahidullah Zadran and Nooristani Omarzai quickly struck early into the innings by getting rid of the two opening batsmen within the first three overs, and only five runs were on the scoreboard for Tanzania.

Ayaan Sharifft and Rehaan Salim did a brief job of calming the nerves and getting the innings back on track before being broken by Khatir Stanikzai, who took the third wicket to add to the Afghan success on the day. Salim had to begin rebuilding with Mbanda Augustine and later with captain Laksh Bakrania, only to find that Afghanistan did not allow either to advance.

Afghanistan’s Nooristani Omarzai led the bowlers by earning five wickets as Tanzania was bowled out for 85 runs in 36 overs; that five-for increased Nooristani’s total to ten wickets in three games this tournament.

Afghanistan made quick work of the target for their chase. With a stellar performance from Faisal Khan, who smacked 54 runs off just 34 balls, Afghanistan eliminated any chance of a late-game failure by finishing the chase in only 13 overs.

This win solidified Afghanistan’s placement as the top team in Group D and moved them to Group 1 within the Super Six round. The loss results in Tanzania being eliminated from this tournament.

–IANS

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