Kristian Clarke, Joey Field The Heroes As New Zealand Reach Semi-Final
ESPNcricinfo
New Zealand’s No. 9 Joey Field and No. 10 Kristian Clarke put on an unbeaten 86-run ninth-wicket stand to take New Zealand through to the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup. They knocked out West Indies – who entered the game unbeaten through the competition – in a dramatic two-wicket win in Benoni to set up a semi-final clash against either South Africa or Bangladesh.
It seemed New Zealand’s tournament was going to be over when they were reduced to 153 for 8 in their chase of 239. Field and Clarke, however, put on a heroic stand and took the game to the last over to eventually win with two balls to spare.
Clarke’s contribution wasn’t only with the bat; his 4 for 25 had helped bowl West Indies out for 238. It wasn’t even the first time Clarke’s heroics with the bat had saved New Zealand. In their must-win game against Sri Lanka in the group stage, he had had struck a final-over six to secure New Zealand’s spot in the knockouts.
Summarized scores: New Zealand Under-19 239 for 8 (Clarke 46*, Field 38*, Need 3-33) beat West Indies Under-19 238 (McKenzie 99, Clarke 4-25) by two wickets