A scintillating century from Ben Duckett and some quick-fire hitting from the tail ensured England edged a thrilling one wicket victory over Australia in the Under-19 World Cup third-place play-off in Dubai.
While England’s senior side endured a succession of miserable results at the hands of their great rivals Down Under this winter, the teenagers showed how it’s done – but it was far from smooth sailing.
Indeed, Australia had victory in their grasp; needing just one wicket from the final 23 deliveries, while England still required 34 runs.
But some blistering batting from Josh Shaw and Matthew Fisher, who combined for 34 runs in the final 3.3 overs, dragged England over the line.
While the duo’s heroics saw England snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, they wouldn’t have been in a position to do so were it not for Duckett.
The Northamptonshire batsman was the lynchpin of the England innings, showing his full array of shots and some remarkable composure to reach his 100 while his teammates lost their wickets around him.
Needing 247, England were in danger of getting steam-rolled when they were reduced to 77-4 inside 17 overs.
A half-century fifth wicket stand between Duckett and Will Rhodes helped steady the ship, before Duckett and Rob Jones produced a 57-run partnership for the seventh wicket.
Once Duckett and Jones were back in the pavilion, the pendulum swung back in favour of Australia, with England struggling at 213-8.
At this stage, Australia could be forgiven for celebrating victory early, but the deadly duo of Shaw and Fisher had other ideas.
Earlier, in a collective team effort, Australia posted a respectable total of 246, with Ben McDermott top-scoring with 56.
Openers Matthew Short and Kelvin Smith laid the foundations of the innings with a 63-run first wicket stand, before Sean Willis (31) and Alex Gregory (30) contributed with useful knocks.
Thomas Andrews’ 48-ball 40 bolstered the Australian total towards the end of the innings – a total which would have proved enough were it not for Duckett's Man of the Match performance.
