ICC Under-19 World Cup

The quarter-finals are set:

Q1: Bangladesh v Nepal
Q2: India v Namibia
Q3: England v Sri Lanka
Q4: Pakistan v West Indies

A quick look at the betting odds reveals that India are the overwhelming favourites, Pakistan second, followed by Bangladesh, England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Nepal and finally Namibia.

I feel Alzari Joseph is a really great find for WI Cricket. I watched some of his bowling and he does seem to have really good pace for a guy his age, around 145 kmph. Also he has that menacing face to go with his bowling too!

It is really important that WICB coach him well so that he does not fall prey to injuries like so many fast bowlers nowadays. He can increase his pace too which means we may go back to the heydays of terrifying West Indian fast bowlers. Cricket needs a competitive West Indies, especially in Test Cricket, because in my opinion they represent the pure joy of playing the game for the love of it rather than monetary gains. It is sad to see some great WI talent getting attracted to T20 leagues around the world, and not focusing on international cricket.

Whatever might be past, I hope the future bodes well and we get to see West Indies back to their competitive best.

Those who say that the batsmen should have been warned are talking fluff. Why does a bowler need to warn a batsman that he intends to try getting him out in a particular way. Does a fast bowler warn the batsman that he is going to bowl a bouncer? Does a leg-spinner warn the batsman that he is going to bowl the googly? Why is the running out of a non-striker backing up too far seen in such a negative light as opposed to any other form of dismissal?

I am sure I am not the only one rooting for Nepal to cause one of sports biggest upsets. They batted with a fair amount of composure until their skipper was run out. Up till that point they were in a really good position and had put in a great account of themselves. They will need to work on their running between the wickets though. It was just like watching Pakistan!

Still, they have at least given themselves a target to defend. You would expect Bangladesh to chase down 212, but stranger things have happened.

215 - 4
Current partnership 117 runs, 20.1 overs, RR: 5.80
                               

Zakir and Miiraz had a different outlook !

Bangladesh Under-19s won by 6 wickets with 10 balls remaining  !

48.2
Airee to Zakir Hasan, SIX, lofted over the ropes. Let the celebrations begin.

This is the first time Bangladesh are into the semifinals of a world event.

Kaustubh Pawar had alleged that  Raju Rijal was overage,

claiming on social media that he had played with Rijal -then named Raju Sharma -

in an Under-15 tournament.

"We played together in under 15 for Mumbai and now he is captain of Nepal under 19 team

and we others are 24-25 age respectively,"  ::LOL::


Pawar's post had said............................... "In Mumbai Raju Sharma, In Nepal Raju Rijal."    :-\

Barbadian fast bowler Chemar Holder could be pressed into action just a couple days after arriving in Bangladesh for the West Indies’ quarter-final match against Pakistan in the ICC Under-19 World Cup Championship on February 8.

Called up as a replacement for the injured pacer Obed McCoy, the 17-year-old Holder, who impressed for Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) Marooners in the recent regional NAGICO Super50 Championship, left here this evening and is expected in Dhaka on February 5, according to the West Indies Under-19 team manager, Dwain Gill.
Speaking live on Mid Wicket, The Real Cricket Show, on the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) 100.7 FM on Tuesday night as he reflected on an exciting, if controversial, two-run win by West Indies over Zimbabwe in Group ‘C’ in Chittagong which booked their place in the last eight, Gill explained the circumstances which led to Holder’s selection.
“His selection came about because of an injury sustained to Obed McCoy, the Vincentian left-arm pacer,” Gill told moderator Keith Holder.
“He had some lacerations to the webbing between the thumb and the first finger. He sustained that injury sometime last week and we immediately contacted the West Indies Cricket Board and requested a replacement player.
“Obviously the selectors would have come together and would have selected Chemar, who I haven’t seen personally. I was not at the (regional) Youth Tournament in Jamaica in 2015 but from all reports and from what we gathered from the NAGICO Super50, he is someone who has some pace, has a good bouncer and a good yorker. So perhaps, he is someone who we will welcome,” Gill added.
Holder, a student of The St. Leonard’s Boys’ School and who plays for Guardian General Barbados Youth in the major Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Competitions, impressed with the ball in last month’s NAGICO Super50 Tournament.
In four matches in Group B in St. Kitts, Holder took six wickets at 18 runs apiece with a economy rate of 5.14. His best figures were five for 22 off six overs, coming on as the fourth and last bowler, in a resounding 91-run win against the Windward Islands Volcanoes, who were fired out for 66 in 23 overs at Warner Park in Round 5 on January 15. It earned him the Player-of-the-Match award. Two of his victims were bowled, two leg before wicket and the other caught at the wicket…
bcacricket.org

Sri Lanka comfortably beat England. England looked lost against the spinners. This match also featured one of the poorer lbw decisions I have seen in sometime. The ball pitched nearly a foot outside leg and the umpire somehow gave poor Callum Taylor out.

I am not sure if anyone else watched this match or has seen anything of Sri Lanka in this tournament, but they have a young ambidextrous spinner named Kamindu Mendis. He is fun to watch. He alternates between bowling right arm off spin and slow left arm orthodox depending on the handedness of the batsman on strike. It's like having two players in one!

Yeah I saw him and am amazed that the Ump has to warn the Bats:

that he is changing hands to Bowl !

Switch hits from Batsmen are not given the same Flag !