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Cape Town - The South Africa under-19's lower order showed nerves of pure steel when they successfully chased down 300 runs to beat England by one wicket in the fifth of the seven match England Youth Series at Taunton on Tuesday.
The match had audiences balancing at the edge of their seats right to the last ball when an inspired shot by Duanne Olivier sent the ball shooting to the boundary, sealing the match for South Africa.
"This is a phenomenal feat by a very special team of young men," Cricket South Africa (CSA) Schools Cricket Manager Niels Momberg said. "To come back in the way they have done, showing such determination against all odds bodes well for the under-19 World Cup in Australia next year."
South Africa's captain Keaton Jennings won the toss and chose to field on the batsman friendly surface. England's batsmen came in looking to redeem themselves after their 150-run loss on the weekend and proceeded to knock the ball to all sides of the field, taking advantage of South Africa's clear discomfort under the foreign conditions.
The first wicket fell after 25 overs when Sam Wood (57) was caught behind by Quinton de Kock off the bowling of Jennings. He struck again two overs later when danger man Daniel Bell-Drummond sent his ball sailing into the hands of Malcolm Nofal, dismissing him for a well batted 72 off 83 balls.
It was a long wait before South Africa got another breakthrough as Sam Kelsall and Aneesh Kapil buckled down and produced a solid 118-run partnership which was eventually broken by Prenelan Subrayen. Kelsall was dismissed for 64 from 78 balls and was joined an over later by Kapil who was dismissed by Rabian Engelbrecht for a 54 off 45 balls.
The South African bowlers continued to struggle for wickets and eventually removed Adam Ball for 21 off 14 balls. England finished their innings having posted a mammoth score of 300/5, leaving South Africa needing 301 to win.
This seemed impossible in the beginning with South Africa having a nightmarish start when their number one batsman Quinton de Kock was dismissed off the first ball by Jamie Overton. Things went from bad to worse when the previous match's centurion Gihan Cloete was removed for just three runs in the fifth over.
Keaton Jennings and Shaylin Pillay managed to calm the match down a little, achieving a 31-run partnership before miscommunication saw Jennings run out by Kishen Velani for 33 off 37 balls.
South Africa knew they were in trouble and needed a match saving partnership and Pillay - who can be relied upon to steer a match in his team's direction - set about doing just that; he and new batting partner Diego Rosier produced a 65-run partnership before Kapil struck and sent Rosier back to the change room for 22 runs.
Nearly three overs later Pillay succumbed to the pressure and was caught behind off the bowling of Peter Burgoyne for a well fought for 52 runs.
James Price contributed a rapid 58 runs from just 37 balls before he was dismissed by Brett Hutton leaving South Africa on 196/7 in the 38th over.
The eighth wicket partnership of Calvin Savage and Prenelan Subrayen produced much needed 66 runs turning the match on its head in South Africa's favour, but a determined England turned it right back when Savage was stopped in his tracks by a superb piece of bowling by Gavin Griffiths leaving South Africa needing 38 runs from four overs.
The nation's hopes rested with the last recognised batsman, Subrayen, who turned over 48 runs in as many minutes when Adam Ball halted him on his trail and removed him with South Africa on 285/9.
The last wicket partnership and their never-say-die attitude kept pushing for more runs, slowly but surely ticking over the scoreboard with smart batting and running between the wickets and it was in the last over, with just one ball remaining that Olivier smashed the ball to the boundary giving South Africa that all important one wicket victory.
"This match is a great advertisement for youth cricket and what cricket fans can look forward to in the rest of the series. Both teams played superb cricket, giving their all throughout but the hungriest team won at the end of the day," Momberg added.
South Africa lead the series 3-1 with the sixth match scheduled for Thursday, 28 July 2011.
The match had audiences balancing at the edge of their seats right to the last ball when an inspired shot by Duanne Olivier sent the ball shooting to the boundary, sealing the match for South Africa.
"This is a phenomenal feat by a very special team of young men," Cricket South Africa (CSA) Schools Cricket Manager Niels Momberg said. "To come back in the way they have done, showing such determination against all odds bodes well for the under-19 World Cup in Australia next year."
South Africa's captain Keaton Jennings won the toss and chose to field on the batsman friendly surface. England's batsmen came in looking to redeem themselves after their 150-run loss on the weekend and proceeded to knock the ball to all sides of the field, taking advantage of South Africa's clear discomfort under the foreign conditions.
The first wicket fell after 25 overs when Sam Wood (57) was caught behind by Quinton de Kock off the bowling of Jennings. He struck again two overs later when danger man Daniel Bell-Drummond sent his ball sailing into the hands of Malcolm Nofal, dismissing him for a well batted 72 off 83 balls.
It was a long wait before South Africa got another breakthrough as Sam Kelsall and Aneesh Kapil buckled down and produced a solid 118-run partnership which was eventually broken by Prenelan Subrayen. Kelsall was dismissed for 64 from 78 balls and was joined an over later by Kapil who was dismissed by Rabian Engelbrecht for a 54 off 45 balls.
The South African bowlers continued to struggle for wickets and eventually removed Adam Ball for 21 off 14 balls. England finished their innings having posted a mammoth score of 300/5, leaving South Africa needing 301 to win.
This seemed impossible in the beginning with South Africa having a nightmarish start when their number one batsman Quinton de Kock was dismissed off the first ball by Jamie Overton. Things went from bad to worse when the previous match's centurion Gihan Cloete was removed for just three runs in the fifth over.
Keaton Jennings and Shaylin Pillay managed to calm the match down a little, achieving a 31-run partnership before miscommunication saw Jennings run out by Kishen Velani for 33 off 37 balls.
South Africa knew they were in trouble and needed a match saving partnership and Pillay - who can be relied upon to steer a match in his team's direction - set about doing just that; he and new batting partner Diego Rosier produced a 65-run partnership before Kapil struck and sent Rosier back to the change room for 22 runs.
Nearly three overs later Pillay succumbed to the pressure and was caught behind off the bowling of Peter Burgoyne for a well fought for 52 runs.
James Price contributed a rapid 58 runs from just 37 balls before he was dismissed by Brett Hutton leaving South Africa on 196/7 in the 38th over.
The eighth wicket partnership of Calvin Savage and Prenelan Subrayen produced much needed 66 runs turning the match on its head in South Africa's favour, but a determined England turned it right back when Savage was stopped in his tracks by a superb piece of bowling by Gavin Griffiths leaving South Africa needing 38 runs from four overs.
The nation's hopes rested with the last recognised batsman, Subrayen, who turned over 48 runs in as many minutes when Adam Ball halted him on his trail and removed him with South Africa on 285/9.
The last wicket partnership and their never-say-die attitude kept pushing for more runs, slowly but surely ticking over the scoreboard with smart batting and running between the wickets and it was in the last over, with just one ball remaining that Olivier smashed the ball to the boundary giving South Africa that all important one wicket victory.
"This match is a great advertisement for youth cricket and what cricket fans can look forward to in the rest of the series. Both teams played superb cricket, giving their all throughout but the hungriest team won at the end of the day," Momberg added.
South Africa lead the series 3-1 with the sixth match scheduled for Thursday, 28 July 2011.
