Dubai: Captain Raynard van Tonder and opener Matthew Breetzke notched superb hundreds and were associated in a record double-century stand as South Africa scored a comfortable 73-run victory over New Zealand in the Super League play-off semi-final for fifth place at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup.
Van Tonder (117, 129b, 10x4, 1x6) and Breetzke (115, 132b, 8x4, 1x6) put paid to the host side’s hopes of bouncing back from a 202-run loss to Afghanistan in the quarter-finals as they added 231 runs for the second wicket in 37.3 overs, South Africa’s highest partnership in ICC U19 Cricket World Cup history.
The result of the match between the two losing quarterfinalists gives South Africa a chance to play the winner of Sunday’s match between Bangladesh and England on January 31 to decide the fifth place. New Zealand will play the loser of Sunday’s match a day earlier, on January 30, with the winner of that match finishing seventh in the tournament.
South Africa, champions in 2014, took control through van Tonder and Breetzke after electing to bat at the Hagley Oval ground in a match played in front of broadcast cameras. The pair batted for a major part of the innings and the team total would have been more than the 284 for six that they managed, had they got a few good cameos down the order.
