Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed holds his vein to take three wickets in the final over as England surpass Afghanistan to reach the U19 World Cup final
- George Bell (56) and Alex Horton (53) helped England win 231-6 in 47 overs
- Afghanistan struggled to a devastating 20 run-over with two free hits
- Rehan Ahmed took the initiative again with three wickets in five balls.
- Josh Boyden gets the job done to seal a 15-run win on Tuesday night
England will have a chance to win the Under-19 World Cup for the second time after the loss Afghanistan By 15 runs in a breathtaking semi-final on Tuesday night in Antigua.
The next generation of England looked to have missed out on their golden opportunity to face the winner of Wednesday’s second semi-final between Australia and Australia. India That’s when the pressure was at its most intense on Saturday after a calamitous over from Northants James Sells.
Sales, the son of former Northern captain David, bowled consecutive no balls, losing the wicket of Noor Ahmed for the first time, costing 20 runs in the start of an over and reducing Afghanistan’s target to 23 runs in the last three overs.
England celebrated a dramatic victory over Afghanistan in the semi-finals played in Antigua on Tuesday
But Lancashire’s Josh Boyden lost only four singles for 47 runs in the 45th over of the semi-final due to Antiguan rain and then England captain Tom Purst bowled the ball to Leicestershire leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, who was unusually expensive.
Ahmed faced the challenge with three wickets, two of them falling due to brilliant catches from Somerset’s James Ray and Sales, leaving Afghanistan needing 18 runs in the final over and well short of their maiden Under-19 World Cup final.
No England team, captained by Hampshire’s Perst, was born when Owais Shah and Graeme Swann and Rob Key won the World Cup after beating New Zealand in Johannesburg in 1998.
Leicestershire leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed won with three wickets in five balls
And it looked like another young England side would be reduced to 136 for six against Afghanistan’s specialist collection of spinners, with only Somerset’s George Thomas making an early lead with a 69-ball 50.
But player of the match George Bell, 56 off 67 balls, shared an unbroken 95 for the seventh wicket and Alex Horton scored 53 runs in 36 balls to take England to the box seat at 231 for six.
It seemed more than enough when Afghanistan were reduced to 162 for six with just 7.2 overs.
But the combination of England’s nerves and Afghanistan, along with Noor Ahmed’s 19-ball 25, pushed the underdog to the brink. That was until a big future spinner in Rehan Ahmed had the last word.
Player of the match George Bell scored 56 off 67 balls to help England post 231 for six in 47 overs
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