Already ruled out of World Cup contention, a revamped England side dispatched newcomers Nigeria for 58 to open their Group B points tally at the final opportunity
Had England managed to get over the line against Australia on Wednesday, this game might actually have meant something. Level on points with their ancient Ashes foes, George Balderson's young men would have needed to come away with at least a tie to officially cement their Super League spot, but the clean last-ditch hitting of Connor Sully to commit the impossible on Thursday meant England's first ever cricket meeting with Nigeria was a one-sided playoff for Group B's wooden spoon.
World Cup newcomers Nigeria continued their lowly if consistent batting form through this tournament, tallying 58 all out to follow their 61 against Australia and 57 against West Indies, the group champions. Skipper Sylvester Okpe again reached double figures – becoming the first Nigerian cricketer to ever do so twice in official international cricket after his 10 against the West Indies on Thursday – but the same could not be said for any of his teammates, who collectively stayed in for 27.5 overs and scored more than five from only one of those.
With a career-best 39 not out from Sam Young on his tournament debut seeing England home in just 11 overs, it might be tempting to think that this was the all-conquering performance that England's campaign had been missing out on so far. The record books might suggest so, at least – only three times in history have an England side in men's, women's or youth cricket completed an ODI chase with more balls remaining than today's 234.
But their performance after being asked to field by Okpe at the toss was not as dominant as the scoreline might suggest. England bowled eight wides to Nigeria's four, and Hamidullah Qadri's economy of 3.43 from seven overs (albeit with four late wickets) is the highest of any bowler against the team in the tournament so far. While Young and allrounder George Hill impressed in their first competitive outings in South Africa, new batting positions for Tom Clark and Jordan Cox were not able to bring out a substantial contribution to the chase as they fell early.
Despite finishing third in their pool, England's tournament is far from over – at the Under-19 World Cup, every team gets to play six matches in total, with England now due to open their Plate League campaign in Potchefstroom on Monday against the loser of Sri Lanka's rain-delayed clash with Japan. A best possible final placing of ninth now awaits – a far cry from their title run of 1998, the last time the tournament visited South Africa – in order for the side to return home with spirits intact.
Today's win was the first at this tournament for Jon Lewis' squad
Though coming in with less-than-glowing records in both Youth ODI action and 2nd XI county fixtures, England coach Jon Lewis spoke incredibly highly ahead of the tournament of vice-captain George Hill's cricketing brain, communication skills and dynamic leadership partnership with George Balderson.
However, in the early rounds of that did not seem to be enough to win Hill a spot in the starting XI, with the omission of the seam-bowling allrounder the only real surprise in England's selection.
All four of the team's benchwarmers finally got an outing in today's dead rubber, but it was Hill who impressed most with as he turned in the third-best figures for a seamer in the tournament so far. Having turned 19 on Friday, the Yorkshireman celebrated by ending the 36-ball vigil of Samuel Mba in his second over, and wrapped up the innings for a lowly 58 with Peter Aho becoming his fourth scalp of the day.
Of course, the opposition must be taken into account – for example, Mba's innings of seven is his best of three attempts so far, and it ended in the hands of first slip when attempting to leave a back-of-length ball just outside the off-stump line – but Hill demonstrated he is a less wayward option than some that England have used so far in the tournament, and conceded only 12 runs in the 7.5 overs he sent down.
Hill also had a brief cameo with the bat, coming in at No.4 to put seven on the board and remain unbeaten as Sam Young struck the winning runs over the cow corner rope. A player of the match gong awaited him as he left the field, and as England's tournament rolls on with pride at stake he will surely be impossible to leave out if England want to continue the winning ways.
George Hill batted at No.4 after claiming 4-12 with his right-arm seam
Aside from Dan Mousley's late half-century against Australia, a notable gulf between England and their opponents has been in the field of aggressive strokeplay.
Where other sides have been able to hold a top-order man at the crease in order to have wickets in hand and freedom to fire a bit more loosely at the close, wicketkeeper Jordan Cox – a key cog in England's machine since carrying his bat to a superb 122 in his first innings of last summer's home tri-series – has struggled to replicate such feats or display much fluency at all.
Fifty-plus partnerships achieved between Cox and Ben Charlesworth for the opening wicket against both Australia and the West Indies were flattering to the Kent man's contributions, which each lasted precisely 41 deliveries. A cramp-ridden outing against the West Indies after 50 overs behind the sticks ended on 20 with an absurd reverse-sweep mis-hit directly to first slip off the very first ball of spin bowled to him; having been granted another life in the fifth over against Australia by an edge not carrying off his bat's shoulder, Cox was again the first Englishman to depart after an hour spent compiling an awkward 25.
Widely touted ahead of the tournament to be one of its star batsmen, instead Cox's haul now stands at 46 runs struck at a fraction over 52. Pushed down to No.3 today as England made room for Somerset opener Sam Young and gave Tom Clark a chance up top, the 19-year-old lasted just six balls following Clark's departure before finding a gully to a shorter ball from Rasheed Abolarin.
Of course, one must remember that form is temporary and class is permanent. It is no fluke that Cox still boasts the highest Youth ODI batting average among this crop of Young Lions, and England's Plate League schedule offers another three opportunities for him and the team as a whole to focus on the fundamentals of their game and put together some more impressive displays.
But, regardless of the apparent quality of the pool opposition, one would naturally expect a cricketing nation of England's calibre, resources and infrastructure to put up a far stronger showing at youth level, and the next two weeks will be a crucial exercise in salvaging something from a slow-starting tour.
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