Tarouba (Trinidad): South Africa skipper George Van Heerden led from the front, smashing a 93-ball 111 as he helped his team secure a Super League quarterfinal berth in the Under-19 World Cup with a 153-run win over Ireland in a Group B match at the Brian Lara Stadium here on Saturday.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, scored a dramatic three-wicket win over hosts West Indies to seal their qualification for the Super League stage from Group D at the Conaree Sports Club.
Van Heerden’s 111 and Dewald Brevis’s 96 helped the Proteas score a mammoth 315/7 from their rain-reduced 47 overs before bowling out Ireland for 158 in 33 overs. Matthew Boast (3/26) and Liam Alder (3/20) were the standout bowlers for South Africa as they secured the second spot in Group B and, with it, a Super League berth.
The two sides started their winner-takes-all final Group B game level on points, with South Africa having a slight net run-rate (NRR) advantage. With India all but assured of their place in the Super League last-eight ahead of their final game against Uganda, South Africa and Ireland faced a shootout for second place.
Ireland made an encouraging start when Reuben Wilson removed South African opener Valentine Kitime in the first over for a duck before Liam Doherty bowled Ethan-John Cunningham (11). At 18/2 after four overs, South Africa were in dire straits but Brevis restored order and moved to 27 from 29 balls with two boundaries to take his side to 53/2 after 10 overs.
Sri Lanka opener Sadisha Rajapaksa scored a patient 76 and skipper Dunith Wellalage grabbed three wickets as they scored a dramatic three-wicket win over hosts West Indies to seal their qualification for the next stage.
Wellalage and Matheesha Pathirana both took three wickets each as Sri Lanka restricted the hosts to 250 before Rajapaksa, Anjala Bandara (40) and Ranuda Somarathna’s unbeaten 28 guided Sri Lanka to a win, which was achieved in the 49th over.
Brief scores: South Africa 315/7 in 47 overs (Dewald Brevis 96, George Van Heerden 111, Michael Copeland 43) beat Ireland 158 in 33 overs (Nathan McGuire 42, Matthew Humphreys 38; Matthew Boast 3/26, Liam Alder 3/20) by 153 runs D/L Method.
West Indies 250/9 in 50 overs (Teddy Bishop 45, Kevin Wickham 56, Jordan Johnson 47, Rivaldo Clarke 45; Dunith Wellalage 3/39, Matheesha Pathirana 2/67) lost to Sri Lanka 251/7 in 48.2 overs (Sadisha Rajapaksa 76, Anjala Bandara 40; McKenny Clarke 2/38).
