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No need for a Plan B when Plan A worked perfectly for World Cup win February 9, 2002 Australia's ICC Under-19 World Cup success at Bert Sutcliffe Oval at Lincoln, near Christchurch, was as clear a demonstration of having a plan and implementing it to perfection as was possible. Their seven-wicket win over South Africa when scoring 207 runs required for victory was achieved in such a way that at no stage of the final, just as it throughout the tournament, were they under any pressure. If there was ever a hint of developing problems, they were snuffed out quickly and efficiently by a unit well capable of making an impact in higher levels of the game. A special hero in the final was left-handed opening batsman Jarrad Burke. He batted throughout and it was his boundary that brought the win with 4.5 overs left, and brought his 100 not out, the only century by any player in the Super League phase of the competition. South Africa knew what they had to do but lacked the firepower to achieve their aims. Greg Smith provided a great foundation, but he lost too many partners for his contribution of 51 to be a launching pad. By the time he was out, South Africa were 100/5, and in the following over the sixth wicket fell. It was a disaster brought about by the systematic and unyielding approach of the Australians. They had a bowling armoury for every occasion, good fast bowling and sound spin bowling which did the job on every occasion. Best of them all was left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty who finished equal top wicket-taker in the tournament with 16 wickets. He was the best in the Super League while Zimbabwe's Waddington Mwayenga played much of the tournament in the Plate Championship. Doherty might have been in the tougher competition but his wickets came at an average of 9.5 compared to Mwayenga's 12.37, and Doherty played one game less. It wasn't as if the fabulous pitches for the tournament, especially on the Oval, have been outrageous turners. Rather it was the controlled flight and the natural reluctance of young men of this age to be tied down that resulted in catches and stumpings when pressure mounted. It took a defiant innings by wicket-keeper Zwelibanzi Homani to get South Africa over the 200 mark. The last three wickets did a great job for South Africa as they scored 90 runs off 101 balls. Homani worked the batting around well and ended with 50 off 74 balls. Aaron Bird made the initial breakthrough when removing the opener Chad Baxter for one and Stephen Cook for five. He then came back and made inroads into the tail, although his four wickets came at a cost of 47 runs. Australia's run chase was systematic with a first wicket stand of 74 which was broken when Craig Simmons was bowled by Brent Kops for 34. Shaun Marsh was run out after a freak collision with Burke, for 35 and then the tournament's top run scorer Cameron White hit a massive six out of the ground to ease past West Indian batsman Donovan Pagon as the top run scorer before being bowled by Ryan McLaren for 22. Burke ensured the win was achieved before even starting to think about his own score. South African captain Hashim Amla said his side wanted to score more than 220 runs. "It was a beautiful batting strip but we backed ourselves to defend anything over 220 on it. "But we didn't put the goods together. We wanted to put the pressure on their middle order because they haven't batted too often in the tournament. We wanted to get among them. "My own run out was definitely a big turning point. We had lost two quick wickets earlier and we had started to peg them back. It was my fault and I will definitely learn from the experience," he said. White said Australia had played to a successful plan that kept on working in the final. "We decided before the tournament that we would give it a fair dinkum crack and try our best, and if we could do that there was every chance we would win. And we have done that," he said. That fact that it included fielding four spinners was not something especially planned. "We just wanted to pick our best side and it was a fact that that side included four spinners. They were tremendous batting pitches and we just wanted to slow it down," he said. © Cricinfo
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Matches Australia Under-19s v South Africa Under-19s Series/Tournaments Australia Under-19s tour of New Zealand Bangladesh Under-19s tour of New Zealand Canada Under-19s tour of New Zealand England Under-19s tour of New Zealand India Under-19s tour of New Zealand Kenya Under-19s tour of New Zealand Namibia Under-19s tour of New Zealand Nepal Under-19s tour of New Zealand Pakistan Under-19s tour of New Zealand Papua New Guinea Under-19s tour of New Zealand Scotland Under-19s tour of New Zealand South Africa Under-19s tour of New Zealand Sri Lanka Under-19s tour of New Zealand West Indies Under-19s tour of New Zealand Zimbabwe Under-19s tour of New Zealand Teams |
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