U19CWC Report Card: Canada
Results summary:
Group stageLost to Bangladesh by 66 runs
Beat Namibia by 4 wickets
Lost to England by 282 runs
Plate quarter-final
Beat Papua New Guinea by 80 runs
Plate semi-final
Lost to West Indies by 187 runs
11th place play-off
Lost to Zimbabwe to by 138 runs
**Positives to take home?**Canada’s previous best in this competition was 11th place in 2010, so this performance was in keeping with their best returns in the U19 CWC. Their average winning percentage through the tournament's history is one in six, so securing two victories puts this bunch of youngsters in good stead compared to past sides.
Match Highlights: West Indies U19s beat Canada U19s by 187 runs
With the ball, Faisal Jamkhandi led the attack, his seam bowling claiming 14 victims across the campaign, making him Canada’s most prolific wicket-taker in the history of the competition. His figures of 5/48 against Bangladesh in the opening game are the second-best recorded by a Canadian at the tournament. He was supported well by fellow seamer Akash Gill, who was also very handy with the bat.
Elsewhere, skipper Arslan Khan was a consistent performer, notching over 20 runs every game, with a crucial 72 off 89 balls in the win against Namibia. His average for the tournament was 41.
**Areas for improvement?**Losses to Test-playing nations was Canada’s achilles heel. Although understandable, a scalp against a top side would have done wonders for the team’s belief and turned a good campaign into a particularly memorable one.
Lower-order runs also proved hard to come by, with no batsman from No.8 or below scoring more than 11 runs in one single innings. Securing more runs late on in the innings is vital in limited-overs cricket and solving this weakness would help going forward.
Rising star?
Akash Gill. The all-rounder showed his class throughout the tournament, leading with the bat. He hit the maiden century by a Canadian at the tournament – a match-winning 120 off 115 balls against Papua New Guinea – and ended as the side’s top run-scorer with 254. He shone with the ball as well, taking 12 wickets across the tournament, and was the only squad member to claim a victim in every match.
Overall gradeB-