Australia indebted to tail for toppling England in U19 World Cup thriller and reaching quarter-finals
Australia were indebted to a fine all-round display from Connor Sully for beating England and reaching the quarter-finals of the U19 World Cup at their great rivals’ expense.
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Connor Sully has claimed two wickets before striking a gutsy unbeaten 35 to steer Australia to a thrilling win over England and into the U19 World Cup quarter-finals.
Coming in at No.9, Sully combined with last man Todd Murphy (16 not out) to blast 40 runs in the final three overs of their crunch Group B clash on Thursday, securing a stunning two-wicket victory on the final ball in South Africa.
Openers Ben Charlesworth (82) and Jordan Cox (25) gave England a decent start in Kimberley before the latter was caught and bowled by Aussie spinner Murphy.
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Jack Haynes added 31 but his dismissal sparked an England mini-collapse, including that of linchpin Charlesworth, who fell to Sully on exactly 100 balls.
Dan Mousley (51 not out) and Kasey Aldridge (32 not out) combined late to help England post 7-252, with Sully finishing with figures of 2-39 and Murphy 1-35.
In reply, Sam Fanning (31) and skipper Mackenzie Harvey (65 off 83 balls) got Australia into their stride, with Lachlan Hearne contributing a precious 45.
With 100 needed from the last 20 overs, though, Australia suffered a collapse as four wickets fell in five overs, leaving them on 206 in the 46th over and England looking set for a comfortable win.
But the heroic tailender fireworks from Sully - who whacked three sixes in the 48th over - and Murphy amassed an unbeaten 47-run stand for the ninth wicket to carry Australia home in a thrilling finale.
“I’m very proud of the boys and proud of myself, it gives me a lot of belief going forward,” man-of-the-match Sully said.
“Personally I never believed I could do something like that, it’s like what dreams are made of. It’s pretty cool to be able to do it.
“They (England) played well too and we were on the back foot for pretty much all the second half of our innings. It was just awesome.”
The result ensured Australia’s passage to the quarters in second place behind Group B table-toppers West Indies, with England left to focus on the Plate competition.
“It was incredible, we were down and out at one stage so to do that and get ourselves through to the quarter-finals was unbelievable, probably the best feeling I’ve had on the cricket field,” Murphy said.