WI U19s start Super Six in winning fashion

Fresh from a 25 run victory via the DLS method over Ireland on Sunday, West Indies will next face Australia on Wednesday, as the Super Six stage of the ICC Under-19 T20 World competition continues in Harare.

Playing at the High Performance Oval, the spin duo of Micah McKenzie (4-36) and Vitel Lawes (2-41) shared six wickets between them, to steer West Indies to victory and keep them on course for the semi-finals.

Batting first, the regional side was bowled out for 226 and when the rain arrived for the second time with Ireland on 164/7 after 40 overs, DLS calculations confirmed West Indies had sealed the win.

West Indies are currently third in Group 1, behind leaders Australia and second placed Afghanistan.

Speaking ahead of their match against Australia at the Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe, Lawes says West Indies must try to avoid the type of batting collapse that occurred against Ireland.

“We should play it like a final, play it like it’s the last game we’re ever gonna play, so we should go all out. I personally have a big role to play in that game, so I definitely have to go to training, put in that work to come and execute on the day.

“We are always happy with a win, but we had a collapse in the middle. I think it’s something we need to work on going forward in the next game when we play the defending champions. We can’t go into a match like that with such a fault so that’s something we need to work on,” Lawes admitted.

While Lawes is known for his crafty bowling which has accounted for key wickets during the tournament, he’s also proud of his batting. 

During the game against Ireland he smashed an unbeaten 18 off 10 balls, batting at number 11, to finish with the best strike rate during the innings.

“Yeah I like to hit a big six, so whenever I get a chance and I hit a six, it brings me joy, or when I hit a boundary. I know I can do it, and I like to prove to the guys back there; they don’t believe in me, so I show them I have the ability to,” he said.
 

Lawes also shed some light on his growing spin partnership with McKenzie.

“Yeah, if you notice when each of us are bowling, I’m always at a short midwicket or he’s always at short mid wicket, so we talk to each other, remind each other about things we’d have worked on during training. We have keywords that we say to each other to keep each other on track and communicate with each all the time,” he explained.

While he believes he should have had more bowling success in the tournament so far, an upbeat Lawes said he is generally satisfied with his overall progress.

“I think I could be doing better, but I’m obviously happy with what I’m doing currently. I think there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done. 

“During every training session we are working, but I feel like some of the guys are just sleeping in the field at times, that’s something we need to work out. We need to stay in the game a bit more…. sometimes things like that can break a bowler’s confidence,” Lawes said.

In the Super Six stage, the top three teams from Groups A and D have been combined into one group, while the top three from Groups B and C form another. Teams carry forward points, wins, and net run rate earned against other Super Six qualifiers from their group in the previous stage.

(KH/CWI MEDIA)