Super League and Plate await as U19 CWC comes to the boil

There’s nowhere better to learn your trade as a young player than knock-out cricket and that’s what awaits emerging stars at the ongoing ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa.

With a gripping group stage now complete, attention quickly turns to the Plate and Super League where prizes will be dished out and teams will raise their games even further.

The top two teams from each of the four groups have advanced to the Super League. These are India, West Indies, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

They are seeded into quarterfinals and it is winner-takes-all from the start.

The clash between reigning champions India and Australia, who came from nowhere to beat England and seal last-gasp progress, is particularly eye-catching and opens the Super League on 28 January.

West Indies went three-from-three in Group B and they face New Zealand.

Nyeem Young (129 runs at 43) and Kevlon Anderson (128 runs at 64) have excelled with the bat for the Windies and Jayden Seales (eight wickets at 11.12) has proved a fine partnership-breaker.

2016 semifinalists Bangladesh face hosts South Africa, who didn’t have it all their own way in the group stage but boast the tournament’s top run-scorer in Bryce Parsons (245 runs at 81.67).

There’s an all-subcontinent tussle as Afghanistan take on Pakistan, with Afghan legspinner Shafiqullah Ghafari the tournament’s most potent wicket-taker (11 wickets at 3.45).

For the winners, it’s straight through to the Super League semifinals to fight for a place in the Potchefstroom final on 9 February.

Teams that lose in the Super League quarterfinals still have opportunities to showcase their talent, however, with the Super League playoff semifinals leading to fifth and seventh placement matches.

Placement matches often produce scintillating cricket as players aim to make a lasting impression on the U19 World Cup. England’s Tom Banton struck a blistering century in the 2018 seventh-placed playoff.

The Plate League is structured in the same way as the Super League. Nations that finished third and fourth in the group stage are seeded into Plate quarterfinals.

Sri Lanka missed out on the Super League by a single point and came within two balls of beating New Zealand, so will be desperate to defend the Plate title they won in 2018 when they take on Nigeria.

England failed to make the last eight of the U19 World Cup for the first time and will aim to make amends against Japan, while UAE play Scotland and Zimbabwe face Canada.

Likewise, winners compete for the Plate semifinals and a spot in the final, while the guarantee that all teams will be scheduled to play six matches comes with 11th, 13th and 15th-placed playoffs.

FIXTURES

Plate Quarter Final 1: 27 January: Sri Lanka v Nigeria – Ibbies Oval, Potchefstroom
Plate Quarter Final 2: 27 January: England v Japan – Witrand Oval, Potchefstroom
Super League Quarter Final 1: 28 January: India v Australia – JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom
Plate Quarter Final 3: 28 January: Zimbabwe v Canada – Ibbies Oval, Potchefstroom
Plate Quarter Final 4: 28 January: United Arab Emirates v Scotland – Witrand Oval, Potchefstroom
Super League Quarter Final 2: 29 January: West Indies v New Zealand – Willowmoore Park, BenoniSuper League Quarter Final 3: 30 January: Bangladesh v South Africa – JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom
Super League Quarter Final 4: 31 January: Afghanistan v Pakistan – Willowmoore Park, Benoni