Only five players had tonned up in U19 World Cup semifinals hitherto. England captain Thomas Rew and his Australian counterpart Oliver Peake joined that exclusive club, also featuring Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, in a high-octane game at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. In the end, Rew’s 110 overshadowed Peake’s 100 as England held their composure to win by 27 runs and book a meeting with the winners of the India-Afghanistan clash in Friday’s final.
“Yeah, it means a lot,” Rew said after the win over Australia. “We came into this tournament with one aspiration and now there is one more game left.
“I think we’ve all had dreams of this World Cup and lifting the trophy. So it’s just another game of cricket for us.”
Rew was disappointed with himself for getting out in the 43rd over and wants to ensure one of England’s set batters remains at the crease during the last few overs in the upcoming summit clash.
“I feel like we still need a batter in the last five overs. That was my fault today,” Rew noted.
“I think that’s just a silly dismissal with seven overs left in the game. If I can bat another five (overs) there, I think that makes a big difference. But I think we’ve done really well this competition to stick to our game plan.”
