Cricket news round-up – January 26: South Africa seniors sink but Under-19s qualify; Pakistan win series

Cricket news round-up – January 26: South Africa seniors sink but Under-19s qualify; Pakistan win series

Mark Wood England

England had South Africa on the mats at stumps on Day 2 at the Wanderers Test thanks to a superb all-round show from Mark Wood; Pakistan won the T20I series against Bangladesh; and South Africa made it to the quarterfinals of the Under-19 World Cup.

Wood sinks South Africa

South Africa finished Day 2 at Johannesburg on 88/6, still 312 behind England in first innings. Mark Wood (3/21) took the first wicket before returning to strike a double blow just before stumps. Quinton de Kock, out there on 32, has been the only one to put up any resistance.

Earlier, England were bowled out for 400 after resuming the day on 192/6. Joe Root (59) and Ollie Pope (56) both got fifties, and the last three batsmen – Chris Woakes (32), Wood (35*), and Stuart Broad (43) helped add 131 for the last 3 wickets including 82 for the last. Anrich Nortje finished with 5/110, his maiden five-wicket haul.

Pakistan clinch T20I series

With a 9-wicket win at Lahore, Pakistan took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match T20I series against Bangladesh. Batting first, Bangladesh crawled to 136/6 despite Tamim Iqbal’s 53-ball 65. Mohammad Hasnain returned 4-0-20-2 and Shaheen Shah Afridi 4-0-22-1.

Ahsan Ali fell for a duck in response, but Babar Azam (66* in 44 balls) and Mohammad Hafeez (67* in 49) got the runs inside 17 overs.

South Africa Under-19s in top eight

South Africa Under-19s beat UAE by 23 runs (DLS Method) at Bloemfontein to qualify for the quarterfinals of the World Cup, where they will now face Bangladesh.

Batting first, South Africa reached 299/8 thanks to a 152-run third-wicket partnership between Bryce Parsons (84 in 83 balls) and Luke Beaufort (85 in 104). Aryan Lakra took 3/48 and Sanchit Sharma 3/57.

UAE were 112/3 in 23.5 overs (Jonathan Figy 36*, Vriitya Aravind 31 in 17) when rain stopped play. They fell short of the par score of 136.

Consolation wins for England, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe Under-19s

England Under-19s thrashed Nigeria by 8 wickets in an inconsequential match at Kimberley. George Hill (4/12) and Hamidullah Qadri (4/24) first blasted Nigeria away for 58, Sylvester Okpe (16) being the only one to reach double figures. Sam Young (39 in 33 balls) then saw them home in 11 overs.

Sri Lanka’s win against Japan at Potchefstroom was even easier. Four of their bowlers picked up 2 wickets apiece to bowl out Japan for 43. They then won by 9 wickets inside 9 overs. The entire match lasted 27 overs.

Zimbabwe beat Scotland by 8 wickets, also at Potchefstroom. They put Scotland in, and bowled them out for 140 – a score made possible only by Kess Sajjad (68 in 71). Sakhumuzi Ndlela took 4/27. Tadiwanashe Marurami (85 in 55) then helped seal the match in just 17.1 overs.