After the conclusion of the group stage in the ongoing ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, the attention now turns to the Plate and Super League stage of the tournament. While India, West Indies, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand qualified for the Super League stage and are guaranteed of their places in the 2022 edition of the U19 Cricket World Cup, the remaining countries i.e, England, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, United Arab Emirates, Scotland, Nigeria, Canada and Japan will be competing in the Plate League stage and if the same process from the 2018 edition is retained, the teams finishing at 9th, 10th and 11th position will also retain their places for the 2022 edition.
Nations that finished third and fourth in the group stage are seeded into Plate quarter-finals. Sri Lanka missed out on the Super League by a single point and came within two balls of beating New Zealand, so will be desperate to defend the Plate title they won in 2018 when they take on Nigeria. England failed to make the last eight of the U19 World Cup for the first time and will aim to make amends against Japan, while UAE play Scotland and Zimbabwe face Canada.
Likewise, winners compete for the Plate semi-finals and a spot in the final, while the guarantee that all teams will be scheduled to play six matches comes with 11th, 13th and 15th-placed playoffs. UAE managed to secure a solitary win in the group stages among all the Associates in the competition, when they won their game against Canada.
Top 3 Batsmen in Group Stages (Associate Members)
Canada U19: Mihir Patel (116 runs @58), Benjamin Calitz (64 runs @64) & Akhil Kumar (47 runs @23.50)
Nigeria U19: Sylvester Okpe (32 runs @10.66), Abdulrahman Jimoh (28 runs @14) & Olayinka Olaleye (23 runs @7.66)
Scotland U19: Kess Sajjad (81 runs @27), Uzzair Shah (59 runs @19.66) & Daniel Cairns (35 runs @17.50)
UAE U19: Jonathan Figy (138 runs @138), Aryan Lakra (100 runs @33.33) & Vriitya Aravind (71 runs @23.66)
Japan U19: Kento Dobell (14 runs @7), Shu Noguchi (13 runs @6.50) & Maximillian Clements (11 runs @5.50)
Top 3 Bowlers in Group Stages (Associate Members)
Canada U19: Akhil Kumar (4 wickets @25), Ayush Verma (2 wickets @39) & Rishiv Joshi (2 wickets @48)
Nigeria U19: Peter Aho (3 wickets @28.33), Rasheed Abolarin (2 wickets @36) & Abdulrahman Jimoh (2 wickets @36.50)
Scotland U19: Sean Fischer-Keogh (4 wickets @13.25), Jasper Davidson (1 wicket @23) & Liam Naylor (1 wicket @24)
UAE U19: Sanchit Sharma (7 wickets @19.14), Aryan Lakra (6 wickets @22.33) & Deshan Chethyia (3 wickets @37.33)
Japan U19: Neel Date (1 wicket @20), Yugandhar Retharekar (1 wicket @51) & Kento Dobell (1 wicket @67)
ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2020 Fixtures (Super League/Plate)
Plate Quarter Final #1 27th Jan 2020: Sri Lanka v Nigeria – Ibbies Oval, Potchefstroom
Plate Quarter Final #2 27th Jan 2020: England v Japan – Witrand Oval, Potchefstroom
Super League Quarter Final #1 28th Jan 2020: India v Australia – JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom
Plate Quarter Final #3 28th Jan 2020: Zimbabwe v Canada – Ibbies Oval, Potchefstroom
Plate Quarter Final #4 28th Jan 2020: United Arab Emirates v Scotland – Witrand Oval, Potchefstroom
Super League Quarter Final #2 29th Jan 2020: West Indies v New Zealand – Willowmoore Park, Benoni
Super League Quarter Final #3 30th Jan 2020: Bangladesh v South Africa – JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom
Super League Quarter Final #4 31st Jan 2020: Afghanistan v Pakistan – Willowmoore Park, Benoni
