Shocks and statements at the U19 T20 World Cup: lessons from the opening weekend

Away from the headline fixtures, the opening weekend of the tournament was notable for the depth in quality across the matches.

West Indies and Ireland both showed real class in their tight encounter in Potchefstroom, as had Pakistan and Rwanda earlier on Sunday – with the Rwandans a particularly exciting story for the tournament’s wider context.

New Zealand also look like an outfit that no opponent should take lightly after their crushing win over Indonesia, while on Saturday there were hugely encouraging displays from UAE and Sri Lanka that may have slipped under the radar thanks to the headline-grabbing results elsewhere on the day.

The number of competitive teams and the level of quality seen out in the middle is a hugely encouraging sign at the start of a tournament that promises to be a hugely entertaining watch.

Australia and England are the dominant nations in women’s senior international cricket, with the Aussies topping both the ODI and T20I Team Rankings and England behind them in second place in both formats.

But there were mixed fortunes for the two nations’ U19 teams on the opening weekend of this tournament. The Aussies faced a tough assignment against a Bangladesh side who have aspirations of challenging for the title in a fortnight’s time.

But regardless of Bangladesh's quality, it was a surprise to see Australia beaten so relatively comfortably, losing by seven wickets and with two overs still remaining.

England, in contrast, took the opportunity of an opening match against Group B outsiders Zimbabwe to get some runs under their belt. Their 199/4 is in with a strong chance of being the top team score of the tournament even at this early stage, and the bowlers followed up with a ruthless performance.

That win for Bangladesh over Australia didn’t have the air of a one-off. This is a Bangladesh side that means business, and a team who have come through a cricketing infrastructure that has yielded excellent results at the international youth level in recent years.

That U19 Men’s side won this tournament in the same South African conditions three years ago, and the women have already shown they have the quality to follow suit.

In Marufa Akter and Disha Biswas they have a pair of quicks who will cause top players plenty of problems with the ball, and the batting line-up appears to have plenty of strength in depth, with four players making important contributions out of the five involved in the chase.

No other player comes close to bringing the experience of Shafali Verma to this tournament. The India captain is something of an anomaly at this level – still just 18 but with 74 senior international caps to her name already.

Every opponent to face India will know that picking up Verma’s wicket cheaply is going to be key to stopping her side, and if her 45 from just 16 balls against South Africa is anything to go by then we could be in for some stunning scenes if she does manage to stay in.

One of the main reasons Verma is at this tournament is because of the captaincy experience she will gain, and the youngster did an outstanding job of managing her field and rotating her bowling options against South Africa.

And, while it’s not her strongest suit, don’t rule out Verma being a consistent threat with the ball either. Her 2/31 from four overs removed two of the biggest threats in the South African XI.