Australia became the first side to confirm a semi final place at the Men’s Under 19 World Cup after captain Oliver Peake struck 109 and fast bowler Charles Lachmund claimed four wickets in a tense win over West Indies.
Chasing 315, West Indies stayed in the contest for much of the match but fell 22 runs short after losing momentum late. Australia absorbed early pressure before forcing errors across the final stretch of the innings.
Sent in to bat, Australia were given early impetus by Will Malajczuk, who raced to 48 from 30 balls. His opening partner Nitesh Samuel added stability with 56 from 74 deliveries and featured in stands of more than 50 runs for the first and third wickets.
Peake arrived at No. 4 after 11 overs and carried the innings through, batting for 166 minutes for his 109 from 117 balls. He shared key partnerships with Alex Lee Young, who made 45 from 47 balls, and Jayden Draper, who added 29 from 23.
R’Jai Gittens removed Malajczuk and claimed another early wicket to check Australia’s momentum. Jakeem Pollard returned figures of 2 for 37 and was the most economical West Indies bowler.
West Indies began their reply strongly, led by an 88 run opening stand between Zachary Carter and Tanez Francis. Carter then combined with Jewel Andrew for a rapid 35 run partnership to keep the chase ahead of the required rate.
Carter scored 64 from 42 balls and Andrew contributed 44 from 38. Captain Joshua Dorne followed with 62 from 97 balls at No. 4. All six of the top order passed 25, leaving West Indies well placed with 83 required from the final ten overs and seven wickets in hand.
The chase unraveled late as Australia tightened the contest. West Indies lost five wickets for 52 runs while pressing for acceleration.
Lachmund led the response with 4 for 66 from nine overs. Hayden Schiller and Aryan Sharma took two wickets each, while Naden Cooray conceded only 38 runs from his ten overs and removed Carter at a critical moment.
England, currently unbeaten atop the Group 2 standings have only one more Super Six game remaining against New Zealand on January 30.
