Lawes spins Windies U-19 to dominant 98-run victory over England

A devastating spell of calculated spin bowling from Vitel Lawes helped to propel the West Indies Under-19s to a comprehensive 98-run victory over their English counterparts in the fourth Youth One-Day International here at the National Cricket Stadium on Monday, securing a commanding 3-1 lead in the seven-match series.

Set a challenging target of 281 for victory, England’s batting lineup had no answer for the disciplined West Indies attack, crumbling to 182 all out in just 38.5 overs.

After inserting the host, England might have thought that they would have had an easy time, as they did in the third game against the visitors.

But the young Windies side decided that they were going to apply themselves a lot better with the bat, which they did.

The opening pair of Tanez Francis and Zachary Carter helped themselves to a half-century stand before Carter went to left-arm pacer James Minto for 34.

Despite Earsinho Fontaine scoring only three, the Windies kept up the scoring and pushed the score to 111 in the 24th over, before Francis fell to the spin of captain Farhan Ahmed for a well-played 51, which included five fours.

With Brendan Boodoo not contributing much with the bat at 121-4, it was the over to captain Joshua Dorne and Jonathan van Lange to steer the ship.

The pair shared in a remarkable 120-run fifth-wicket partnership, which spruced up the host score with three overs still left in the innings.

Dorne eventually fell for 80, after facing 108 balls and hitting six fours and a six, while van Lange ensured the momentum continued through the closing overs with 80 runs of his own, with four fours and four sixes.
The English bowlers toiled in the Grenadian heat as Luke Hands picked up 3-63, with Farhan Ahmed taking 2-37.

In reply, England’s innings never truly found its footing. Apart from a resolute 78 from Ben Dawkins and a supporting 32 from Caleb Falconer, the batting card made for sorry reading, thanks to an opening burst from Shaquan Belle and the spin and guile of Lawes later on.

Wickets fell at regular intervals, with the destroyer-in-chief being Lawes, whose mystery chinaman deliveries reaped a four-wicket haul for just 35 runs, ripping the heart out of England’s middle order.

He was brilliantly supported by Belle, who claimed three for 34, as the two bowlers combined to ensure there would be no late drama.

With a 3-1 series lead, they now have two opportunities to clinch the series outright, with the fifth ODI set for the same venue on Wednesday.

(CMC)