England hold nerves, break Afghanistan's hearts, and book place in U-19 World Cup final

Rehan three-for in the penultimate over helps England crawl out of difficult position

England231 for 6 (Bell 56*, Horton 53*, Thomas 50, Noor 2-32) beat Afghanistan 215 for 9 (Allah 60, Ishaq 43, Rehan 4-41) by 15 runs (DLS method)

The first semi-final between two sets of nervous teenagers had it all. Broken stumps, dropped catches, run-outs, six-hitting cameos, a five-ball over, and a catch off a no-ball. England, though, held their nerves, and despite all their errors, crossed the line to reach their first U-19 World Cup final in 24 years.

Afghanistan, chasing a spot in their very first ICC World Cup final, but lost in some key moments. After getting England six down for only 135, Afghanistan could not end the innings well with the ball, conceding 95 in the last 12 overs. And then, two of their top four batters were out for ducks in the 231 chase.

However, Afghanistan were offered a back door pass late into the contest when England seamer James Sales had a horrific start to the 44th over of the chase. At that stage, Afghanistan needed 43 in four overs, but Sales conceded 10 runs courtesy two no-balls even before delivering a legal ball, and by the end of the 44th, Afghanistan needed 23 off 18.

However, Left-arm seamer Joshua Boyden bowled a tight 45th, and legspinner Rehan Ahmed took three wickets in the 46th to book England’s seat in the final on February 4 against either India or Australia.

more to follow…