Captain Raynard van Tonder and opener Matthew Breetzke notched superb hundreds and were associated in a record double-century stand as South Africa scored a comfortable 73-run victory over New Zealand in the Super League play-off semi-final for fifth place at the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand on Saturday (January 27).
Van Tonder (117, 129b, 10×4, 1×6) and Breetzke (115, 132b, 8×4, 1×6) put paid to the host side’s hopes of bouncing back from a 202-run loss to Afghanistan in the quarter-finals as they added 231 runs for the second wicket in 37.3 overs, South Africa’s highest partnership in ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup history.
The result of the match between the two losing quarter-finalists gives South Africa a chance to play the winner of Sunday’s match between Bangladesh and England on 31 January to decide the fifth place. New Zealand will play the loser of Sunday’s match a day earlier, on 30 January, with the winner of that match finishing seventh in the tournament.
South Africa, champions in 2014, took control through van Tonder and Breetzke after electing to bat at the Hagley Oval ground in a match played in front of broadcast cameras. The pair batted for a major part of the innings and the team total would have been more than the 284 for six that they managed had they got a few good cameos down the order.
South Africa captain Raynard van Tonder said he was hoping for a bigger score: “Before the game we spoke about getting a good base for batters coming later, at least to bat till 30 overs, get the team to a good position and accelerate from there. We could have got a bigger score if one of us had batted on but we were confident because we thought the pitch was helping spin bowling.”
New Zealand were bowled out for 211 in reply with Dale Phillips (74, 82b, 5×4, 1×6) fighting it out without much support as South Africa’s new-ball bowlers wreaked havoc. The 17-year-old Gerald Coetzee finished with five for 32, which included the prized scalps of opener Jakob Bhula (0) and Finn Allen (6), both of who were caught behind. Left-armer Akhona Mnyaka finished with two for 49 and had the satisfaction of accounting for a well-set Philips.
New Zealand captain Kaylum Boshier said his team still had a lot to play for: “It’s important (to play for seventh place) especially for the rankings, and we look forward to it. It will be another chance to play for our country, and that’s all the motivation we need and we hope to do well down there.
“It’s about giving yourself time. Those guys spent of lot of time out there and put on the runs, it’s the same for all our batsman, we want them to spend time out there and then it becomes easier.”
In the plate championship, captain Harry Tector took his second player of the match award with a fine knock of 101 as Ireland defeated Namibia by 102 runs in the match to decide the 13th and 14th places while an all-round effort of 44 not out and three for 22 by Jayant Mepani kept Kenya ahead of PNG in 15th place after a 14 runs win.
Scores in brief:
Super League play-off semi-final for fifth place
South Africa beat New Zealand by 73 runs, Hagley Oval, Christchurch
South Africa 284-6 in 50 overs (Raynard van Tonder 117, Matthew Breetzke 115; Matthew Fisher 2-59)
New Zealand 211 all out in 43.5 overs (Dale Philips 74; Gerald Coetzee 5-32, Akhona Mnyaka 2-49)
Player of the match: Raynard van Tonder (South Africa)
Plate championship
13th/14th place play-off
Ireland beat Namibia by 102 runs, Lincoln No. 3, Christchurch
Ireland 288-6 in 50 overs (Harry Tector 101, Neil Rock 55, Jammie Grassi 51, Mark Donegan 30; Jonathan Garth 2-27)
Namibia 186 all out in 39.1 overs (Lohan Louwrens 62, Gerhard Lottering 46; Joshua Little 3-33, Jonathan Garth 2-39)
Player of the match: Harry Tector (Ireland)
15th/16th place play-off
Kenya beat PNG by 14 runs, Rangiora, Christchurch
Kenya 176 all out in 50 overs (Jayant Mepani 44 not out, Sidhart Vasudev 31; Semo Kamea 3-24, James Tau 2-36)
PNG 162 all out in 48.3 overs (Nou Rarua 47, Ovia Sam 30; Gerard Mwendwa 4-37, Jayant Mepani 3-22)
Player of the match: Jayant Mepani (Kenya)
Sunday’s fixtures:
Super League
Bangladesh v England, Play-off semi-final for fifth place, John Davies Oval, Queenstown
Plate Championship
Sri Lanka v Windies, Final, Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln, Christchurch
Canada v Zimbabwe, 11th/12th place playoff, Rangiora, Christchurch
