Captain proud of SA U-19s’ fight but disappointed to be out of World Cup

South Africa U-19 captain Juan James admitted he was extremely proud of the fight shown by his charges during a strong showing in the U-19 World Cup, but was disappointed at their inability to fix their deficiencies, which saw them knocked out by India in the semifinal.

In all it was a relatively successful tournament for the hosts, who punched above their weight to reach the semis and then pushed the pre-tournament favourites and defending champs all the way, before falling to a tight two wicket defeat.

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They won four games over the tournament, losing once to England in the pool phase, and then against India in their most important game.

In the end it was their struggles in the middle overs during the tournament which cost them, and was seen again in the semi when their batters struggled to score and bowlers were unable to pick up wickets.

“I think they tied us down in the middle overs, they bowled really well and then when they were batting we had them four down for 30 odd and Uday and Sachin played really well. So I think those two periods lost us the game,” explained James after the match against India.

“It is something we struggled with the whole tournament and that is something we just didn’t manage to get right in the end.”

Big wins

James is however proud of his charges as they picked up some big wins, including against West Indies and Sri Lanka, which proved pivotal in getting them as far as they did.

A number of players also stood out, with openers Steve Stolk and Lhuan-dre Pretorius particularly impressive with the bat.

But it was Kwena Maphaka, who was brilliant with the ball, that stood out the most and he may finish as the top wicket taker in the competition with him currently leading with 21 scalps, four ahead of the chasing pack.

“I think what stood out the most for me was us never giving up. Even at the end (against India) we fought until the very end. So that is something that makes me very proud as a captain, seeing everyone fight like that and that stood out the most for me from this team,” said James.