Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Match Centre

Commentator: @PeterDellaPenna

END OF OVER:
47 | 2 Runs | AFG19: 215/9 (16 runs required, RR: 4.57)

  • Abdul Hadi37 (60b)
  • Naveed Zadran1 (2b)
  • Joshua Boyden7-1-23-1
  • Rehan Ahmed6-0-41-4

England captain Tom Prest: "I don't think I really expected it to get that tight at the end the way things were going, but credit to the lads. Josh Boyden at the end was unbelievable under pressure. [After the 20-run over by Sales] It shows how quickly things can change in a game of cricket, but the way then Sales came back and took that catch at deep midwicket is testament to his character as a bloke. It was probably quite a brave call choosing to bat first at the toss. Belly the way he played and then Horts at the back end as well was something special, that partnership to get us to a winning score and the runs at the end were really crucial. [The rain break influencing the game] We thought 200 would be a good score from the position we were in and then to get the score we did targeting their seamers was amazing from Belly and Horts. We feel [Aspinwall] is a bowler who can hit the deck hard. On there, hard length top of the stumps with the odd bouncer was the way to go. He does that really well so that's why we went with him. [On England reaching their first U19 World Cup Final since 1998] I can't really believe it."

Afghanistan captain Suliman Safi: "It's a very difficult time. The momentum was with us and now we lose the match. It's part of the game. We played some great knocks. We have a good team. It's part of cricket to win or lose. Congratulations to England team. They played well. Cricket has ups and downs. The momentum shifted to England when we lost the wickets in the [46th over]. We have played good cricket here. Inshallah we will focus on the next game."

George Bell has been named Player of the Match for his 56 off 67 balls: "I just tried to keep it a bit steady for awhile until we could go big at the back end with Horton coming in at the end. He batted unbelievably well when he came in and we were able to put a score on the board. Obviously it's a good deck and we wanted to put a good score on the board to try to defend it. You just had to try to pick their spinners as best you can and then play to your strengths against them and it seemed to work today. We tried to target their seamers. Obviously their spinners are very good so that was where we tried to target and it worked well. After the big over that they had, I think it was just about staying calm as a team. I was trying to get people to stay calm but I get quite hyper myself so it was hard to do that. The skipper did a great job of keeping everyone calm and everyone just tried not to panic in the end."

Ran : "It's hard to believe that Rehan was not the man of the match. " I'm with you Ran! If not him, then Alex Horton surely had to be the next option. Seems like a case of match official simply running down the scorecard to see who had the most runs without actually using their eyes to factor in what just happened in front of them. But there were many heroes on the day for England that's for sure.

Anyway, that's it for today's coverage. On behalf of Andrew Miller, I'm Peter Della Penna. Will England face Australia or India in the tournament final? Come back tomorrow for coverage of the second semifinal at Coolidge. Until then, take care!

5.17 pm How many times did the pendulum swing in the last 30 minutes?! Afghanistan's last wicket pair drop to their knees after the final ball, utterly devastated. But Rehan Ahmed's 46th over will become the stuff of legend for England. With 23 off 18 to win and four wickets in hand, Afghanistan manage just 7 runs to close out the match.

Ahsan Bhutta: "That's the value of having a good leggie in your time, what an over from Rehan."

max: "It is a game of rotating the strike which is what Afghanistan are missing. Excellent work by the England players."

keran kerai: "England has a future. this was under pressure and bold leg spin calls make the change. prest for England test captain. "

Ali: "Prest decision to go with Rehan reminded me Dhoni's decision to go with Joginder Sharma in WCT20 final. Anyway, what a fight by Afghanistan !!"

46.6
0
Boyden to Abdul Hadi, no run, length ball, Hadi charges and swings over this. Another dot from Boyden appropriately ends it. England have closed out a dramatic 15-run win to advance to the U19 World Cup Final!

Saqib: "Bold call turns into a heroic call.. "

Mark Young: "Great captaincy by Prest!"

46.5
1
Boyden to Naveed Zadran, 1 run, short on the body, pulls this tamely through midwicket for one.

From 19 off 12, Afghanistan needed 18 off 3. They bungled this in monumental fashion. But full credit to England for holding their nerve under immense pressure.

46.4
1
Boyden to Abdul Hadi, 1 run, wide yorker is scuffed out to long-on for one. This time they take the single.
46.3
0
Boyden to Abdul Hadi, no run, slower ball short and wide, swings to pull and the umpire again deems it legal inside the guideline.
46.2
0
Boyden to Abdul Hadi, no run, full and wide, passes just inside the guidelines. Left alone and deemed legal, rightfully so!
46.1
0
Boyden to Abdul Hadi, no run, full outside off, driven to long-off and they turn down another single.

Boyden to bowl the final over.

Afghan U19 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st1Mohammad IshaqNangeyalia Kharote
2nd93Allah NoorMohammad Ishaq
3rd1Suliman SafiAllah Noor
4th11Abdul Hadi (1)Allah Noor
5th50Abdul Hadi (1)Bilal Ahmad
6th6Abdul Hadi (1)Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai
7th50Abdul Hadi (1)Noor Ahmad
8th1Izharulhaq NaveedAbdul Hadi (1)
9th0Abdul Hadi (1)Bilal Sami
10th2Abdul Hadi (1)Naveed Zadran