Decoding England's record in ICC U-19 World Cup
England will be up against India on Saturday in the 2022 ICC U-19 World Cup final. The summit clash will take place at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North South, Antigua, and it is slated to begin at 06:30 PM. This is England's second appearance in the U-19 WC final and the Prest-led outfit will look to create history by winning the title.
Why does it matter?
On Saturday, England will play their first final of the Under-19 WC in 24 years. Prest and co will head into the game high on confidence, having already etched their name in the history, and will look to go all the way by upsetting four-time champions India. So far, England have been exceptional with their performance and have won every game in the tournament.
First U-19 WC final for England in 21st century
This is England's first U-19 final appearance in the 21st century. The last time England reached the final was during the 1998 South Africa World Cup. England won their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup during the same edition after defeating New Zealand by seven wickets in the summit clash. Owais Alam Shah was the man who guided England to their first U-19 WC title.
England's performance in U-19 World Cup
England's only U-19 title came in 1998. England have reached the semi-final round on four occasions - 1988, 2004, 2006 and 2014. They exited from the group stage in 2000 and 2002. They finished at 5th place in 2008 and 2012. In 2010, they finished at the 8th spot. They finished sixth, seventh, and ninth during 2016, 2018, and 2020 editions respectively.
Jack Burnham leads the run-scoring chart
Jack Burnham is England's leading run-getter in the U-19 World Cup. He has scored 420 runs in six games at an impressive average of 84.00. Burnham was part of England's squad during the 2016 WC. Sir Alastair Cook is sitting at the second spot, having scored 383 runs in seven games in 2004. Ben Duckett (2012, 2014) has amassed 364 runs in ten games.
Timothy Thomas Bresnan leads the wicket-takers list
Bresnan is the leading wicket-taker from England in U-19 WC. He claimed 25 wickets in 13 games at 19.64 across two editions - 2002 and 2004. Reece James Topley has bagged 19 wickets in six games, including a fifer, at 9.10. Topley was part of England's squad in 2012. Clairmonte Lewis took 16 wickets in eight games during the inaugural edition of the tournament.
Top wicket-takers in 2022 U-19 WC
Joshua Boyden is leading (4th overall) England's wicket-taking tally in the 2022 U-19 WC. He has claimed 13 wickets in the tournament in five games at 09.53. Rehan Ahmed is another standout performer from England. Rehan has picked up 12 wickets in just three games to become the fifth leading wicket-taker in the tournament. He is averaging 9.91 and has taken three four-wicket hauls.
Top performers with the bat in 2022 U-19 WC
Thomas Prest is the leading run-getter from England and third overall in the 2022 U-19 WC. He has scored 292 runs in five games at 73.00. Jacob Bethell is occupying the second spot in the elite list with 203 runs under his belt from five games. Bethell is averaging 40.60 in the tournament. George Thomas has scored 177 runs in five games at 35.40.
England's road to the final
England won all three group games to finish the first round as table toppers. England started their campaign with a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh. Next, they hammered Canada by 106 runs and then humiliated the United Arab Emirates by 189 runs. They passed the South Africa test in quarters by six wickets. In the semis, they (won by 15 runs) broke Afghanistan's heart.
