Share

Ghafari, Zardan relegate frustrated South Africa to eighth at the U19 world cup

accreditation
Odirile Modimokoane of South Africa celebrates the wicket of Rahmanullah Zarma Khan of Afghanistan, after he was caught by Mondli Khumalo of South Africa during the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 7th Place Play-Off match between South Africa and Afghanistan at Willowmoore Park in Benoni. Picture: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images
Odirile Modimokoane of South Africa celebrates the wicket of Rahmanullah Zarma Khan of Afghanistan, after he was caught by Mondli Khumalo of South Africa during the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 7th Place Play-Off match between South Africa and Afghanistan at Willowmoore Park in Benoni. Picture: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

Another match against Afghanistan, another poor batting performance from South Africa at the Under-19 ICC Cricket World Cup.

The Junior Proteas’ poor showing in Benoni today meant the team finished in eighth position in the 16-team tournament.

In a repeat match-up of their opening encounter of the world cup, the Junior Proteas took on Afghanistan for the right to finish seventh in the tournament, but 10 overs in and 44/3 on the board, South Africa already looked out of the game.

This was even before the spinners – against whom South Africa have struggled – were introduced.

Afghanistan followed this with a batting performance of great substance as they won by five wickets with Ibrahim Zadran carrying his bat to an unbeaten 73 off 113 balls.

In the bowling department, man of the match Shafiqullah Ghafari was again the chief wicket taker as he finished off with 4/15 in less than nine overs, but this was on the back of sustained pressure from the opening fast bowlers.

“It was simple the way I bowled, focused on my line and length,” Ghafari said, adding that all he was trying to do was to bowl dot balls, and he most certainly got them.

Shafiqullah Ghafari of Afghanistan pictured with the Player of the Match award. Picture: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

SA batting collapses

Pace bowlers Fazal Haque and Abdul Rahman bowled with zip and bounce early on and continuously beat SA’s opening batsman with pace and a touch of swing.

Levert Manje was the first to go in the third over for two runs as he nicked a rising ball from Haque to first slip with his feet planted on the crease.

Then it was the turn of Rahman who, with extra bounce, found Andrew Louw’s edge as gully took a simple catch dismissing the opener for nine.

This brought captain Bryce Parson and Jonathan Bird together at the crease.

Both have been in decent form with Parsons going on to gain some match-winning scores this tournament, and Bird playing a good supporting role at times without kicking on to any big scores.

But their partnership did not last long with Parsons (6) trying and failing to attack the fast bowlers as he was dismissed walking towards the pitch of the ball and getting an inside edge onto his stumps to become Rahman’s second victim.

We let ourselves down
Coach Lawrence Mahatlane

Bird did manage to hit the seamers to the boundary on a number of occasions but was hit flush on the elbow by Rahman as he tried to defend another rising delivery just before the end of the tenth over and left the field with 22 runs to his name.

He was taken for x-rays and declared fit to resume playing.

Coach Lawrence Mahatlane said they didn’t bat well and “we let ourselves down with those dismissals”, specifically referencing the soft dismissals of Tyrese Karelse and Tiaan van Vuuren’s wickets which rolled on to the stumps.

As the spinners were finally introduced in the 12th over, Karelse and Luke Beaufort buckled down and barely troubled the scorers, managing only 22 runs in nine overs of spin before star spinner and chief destroyer in the previous game, Ghafari, took advantage of the pressure and bowled Karelse in his first over for 10.

In his second over, Ghafari’s googly bamboozled Beaufort and he departed for 19, with van Vuuren following him with a duck in the next over.

Ghafari finished with figures of 4/15 after 8.3 overs which, combined with his first game demolition, ended with 10 wickets for 30 runs in less than 19 overs against the South Africans.

This meant he shot up the list to sit joint leading wicket taker of this year’s tournament – for now.

He also holds the best figures of the tournament – 6/15 against South Africa in the first game.

The SA youngsters were 81/6 with Bird still injured before vice captain Khanya Cotani (3) survived a few overs before he departed with the score at 91/7.

Bowlers Merrick Brett and Mondli Khumalo then put on a brief fight as their saw-ball-hit-ball nature took them to a 51 run partnership.

This was ended by Haque as he came on for his second spell dismissing both Khumalo (26) and Brett (28) in three balls.

With still another 13 overs left in the innings, Bird walked back to the crease, added 12 more runs in three overs before Ghafari ended his tournament as the Junior Proteas only managed to post 154 runs in their final game.

“It’s mostly frustration,” Mahatlane said when asked how he viewed the tournament.

“I think we [are] more than capable of achieving more, given that we were at home and backed ourselves.”

He added that this was the most time he has spent with a group – more than six weeks.

“During the pressure moments we didn’t handle those well and there were some special moments but not consistent enough.”

Mondli Khumalo of South Africa catches Rahmanullah Zarma Khan of Afghanistan. Picture: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

Afghanistan storm to victory

In the chase it only took two overs for Afganistan’s opener Sediqullah Atal to settle at the crease before he opened the floodgates and dispatched the opening bowlers around Willowmoore Park as he racked up 17 runs in the first five overs while his partner and Afghanistan’s Test player Zadran put on a conservative two runs.

Brett and Khumalo tried using the bounce on offer but varied their line and length which subsequently meant there were a few loose balls upfront, with first change bowler van Vuuren going for 16 in one over.

This allowed Afghanistan to post 51 for no wicket after 10 overs.

The spinners Parsons and Odirile Modimokoane then came on and in their first over took a wicket each to slow the onslaught.

Parsons managed to drag Atal forward as Cotani whipped off the bails to send him back to the dressing room for a 38-ball 40.

Modimokoane kept it tight and was rewarded with two wickets as he got Farhan Zakhil LBW for 1 and a spectacular diving catch from Khumalo at 45 on the leg-side forced Rahmanullah (1) off the field.

There seemed to be a distinct shift in momentum as Afghanistan managed only seven runs for the loss of three wickets to sit at 58/3 after 16 overs.

However, Zardan and Rahman then stabilised the innings and managed to get to 102/3 after 25 overs.

“I think we were in with a sniff after the three wickets but it just wasn’t enough,” Parsons said.

A lack of sustained pressure in the field, consistent singles and the odd boundary meant South Africa again failed to take advantage in their defence of a meager total.

Zadran and Rahman took the Afghanistan to the brink before Rahman was run out for 27 with 11 runs to win and another spectacular catch this time by Parson’s dismissed Mohammad Ishaq with 2 runs for victory.

Zadran then steered the ship home glorious straight four to claim seventh spot for his country with less than 10 overs to go.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you believe that the various planned marches against load shedding will prompt government to bring solutions and resolve the power crisis?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes
20% - 103 votes
No
80% - 401 votes
Vote