A classy century from Ollie Peake has led Australia to a commanding total of 7/314 against the West Indies on Wednesday, in their final hit-out before the Under 19 World Cup semi-finals.
After losing the toss and being sent in to bat first for the first time this tournament, opener Will Malajczuk unsurprisingly came out of the blocks firing to put the reigning champions in front of the eight-ball from the get-go.
Watch AUS Tour of Pakistan: Watch every match LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on FOX CRICKET, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Despite seaming conditions with the new ball on a tacky Harare pitch, the Western Australian prodigy boomed a pair of cover drives to the boundary inside his first 10 balls, after a few nervous plays-and-misses outside off stump to begin his innings.
Malajczuk’s willingness to capitalise on any length or width was obvious, though he rode his luck at times throughout his 30-ball, 10-boundary stay before skying a short-and-wide ball straight up into the air.
The 18-year-old fell to seamer R’Jai Gittens, who incredibly bowled a mixture of wides and no-balls for six consecutive balls in his opening over, which saw him concede 10 runs across his first two legal deliveries.
Gittens ultimately had the last laugh though, dismissing No.3 Steve Hogan soon after Malajczuk departed to see Australia 2/84 after 11 overs.
That was when Peake walked out to the middle. The 19-year-old skipper kept a controlled tempo throughout the entirety of his innings to top score and register his second-ever Youth ODI hundred.
The Geelong product hit just the nine fours in his knock, but ran between the wickets excellently; particularly when at the crease with Nitesh Samuel (56 runs off 74 balls) and Alex Lee-Young (45 off 47).
Peake’s expansive stroke play on the off-side made it very difficult for the opposing bowlers to find any continuity, while wicketkeeper Lee-Young was fearless in his particular attack on the West Indies’ spinner.
The Melbourne Renegades middle-order bat hit his sole six of the innings to bring up three figures, with a monster shot over long-on getting the Australian dressing room out of their chairs and on their feet. He was run out on the final ball of the innings, selflessly coming back for an improbable second run.
Samuel again proved himself a major annoyance for opposition bowlers, stretching his tournament run tally out to 224 with a third half-century. He has only been dismissed twice in five innings.
“He’s been a run-machine for Australia’s he’s so hard to get out,” commentator Mel Farrell said as Samuel reached his fifty.
Get all the latest cricket news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!
Having hardly batted so far this tournament, No.6 Jayden Draper was also notable for his 23-ball cameo that yielded 29 runs.
Only one team in the history of the Under 19 World Cup has ever successfully chased a 50-over score above 300, with New Zealand chasing down Ireland’s target of 305 all the way back in 2006.
Australia U19 XI: Will Malajczuk, Nitesh Samuel, Steven Hogan, Oliver Peake (c), Alex Lee Young (wk), Jayden Draper, Aryan Sharma, Hayden Schiller, Naden Cooray, Ben Gordon, Charles Lachmund
West Indies U19 XI: Tanez Francis, Zachary Carter, Jewel Andrew (wk), Joshua Dorne (c), Kunal Tilokani, Jonathan van Lange, Shaquan Belle, Vitel Lawes, R’Jai Gittens, Jakeem Pollard, Micah McKenzie
Discussion about this post