Sri Lanka beats England in ICC U19 Cricket World Cup UAE 2014

Sri Lanka and South Africa sealed their places in the quarter-finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup UAE 2014 when they recorded victories of contrasting styles on the third day of the 16-day tournament on Sunday.

In front of Star Sports cameras at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Sri Lanka overcame 1998 champion England by one wicket in a match of fluctuating fortunes to become the first side from Group D to progress to the knock-out stage, while South Africa recorded a comfortable 45-run victory over Canada at Abu Dhabi Oval 1 to seal a place in the next round from Group C.

In the other results of the day, the West Indies outplayed Zimbabwe by 167 runs and New Zealand outsmarted the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 112 runs.

In one of the closest finishes in the history of the age-group competition, Sri Lanka sealed victory with one wicket and seven balls to spare. This was after Sri Lanka had looked down and out in its 231-run chase when it collapsed to 160 for seven in 35 overs and then needed nine runs for victory with one wicket remaining.

Number-seven batsman Thilaksha Sumanasiri (43) and number-nine AK Tyronne (20) put on 53 runs for the eighth wicket to take the score to 213 before Sumanasiri perished with Sri Lanka still requiring 18 runs off 35 balls. Tyronne followed Sumanasiri nine runs later to leave his side needing nine runs from 17 deliveries. But Anuk Fernando (10 not out) and Lakshan Jayasinghe (four not out) got the required runs with seven balls remaining, with a winning single coming after Jonathan Tattersall missed the wicket at the non-striker’s end.

Earlier, Sadeera Samarawickrama played some fine shots in an elegant 89-ball 82 that included 10 boundaries and put Sri Lanka on track for victory. He added 46 runs for the first wicket with Hasahn Dumindu (17), 38 runs for the fourth wicket with Priyamal Perera (22), 36 runs for fifth wicket with Binura Fernando (19) and another 37 runs for the sixth wicket with Sumanasiri.

Earlier, a gutsy 95 by Jonathan Tattersall saved England’s blushes when it slipped to 43 for four before recovering to 230 for nine. Tattersall, who was out on the penultimate delivery, faced 120 balls and hit three fours and two sixes.

The 19-year-old from Yorkshire added 71 runs for the fifth wicket with Will Rhodes (38) and 57 runs for the sixth wicket with Joe Clarke (19). It was mainly Tattersall’s efforts that saw England collect 78 runs in the last 10 overs, including 55 runs in the final five overs.

Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis was delighted with the victory: “It was a great match, which went down to the wire. We made a few mistakes in the batting but I’m glad that we were able to hold our nerves when it mattered most.“I’m just happy to win the game and confirm a place in the Super League quarter-finals. We’ll try to improve our overall game so that we can achieve best results from this tournament.”

England captain Rhodes admitted he was devastated. “A one wicket defeat is devastating but I think the boys gave their best performance. I’m proud of the way we played but we’ll need to play much better in our next match against New Zealand, which will decide which side progresses.”

Samarawickrama, later declared man of the match, said: “It was a good one-day wicket and I enjoyed batting on it. I may have top scored but I think it was a good all-round performance and the later order batsmen ensured that we crossed the line and moved to the next stage.”