Rew ton trumps Peake's as England reach U19 World Cup semifinal

Only five players had scored hundreds in U19 World Cup semifinals before today. England captain Thomas Rew and his Australian counterpart Oliver Peake wrote themselves into that exclusive club, also featuring Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, in a pulsating contest at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. In the end, Rew's masterful 110 trumped Peake's gutsy lone-ranger 100 as England held their nerve to win by 27 runs and book a date with the winners of Wednesday's India-Afghanistan clash in Friday's final.

On a sluggish, turning surface that offered inconsistent bounce and turn, Rew's 107-ball resurrection took England to 277 for 7, a total that proved just beyond Australia's reach despite Peake's Herculean effort. The Australian skipper battled cramps, dwindling partners and mounting pressure to keep the chase alive deep into the innings, but eventually ran out of allies with 15 balls still remaining, dismissed for exactly 100 as Australia were bowled out for 250 in the 48th over.

An England victory had seemed far from possible a few hours earlier, when they were reeling at 60 for 3 after opting to bat first. England's decision was wise - even Peake had admitted at the toss that he would have batted too - but they were set back by a disciplined opening burst from Australia. Will Byrom had Ben Dawkins caught at slip in the second over before Aryan Sharma and Hayden Schiller struck to remove Joseph Moores and Ben Mayes in quick succession. What followed was a captain's innings of rare composure and calculated aggression.

Rew found his rhythm immediately, hitting his first boundary five balls after Mayes' dismissal, rocking back to heave Naden Cooray to the wide long-on fence. But it was his decisive fourth-wicket partnership with Caleb Falconer that truly transformed the contest, the pair adding 135 runs to wrest control from Australia and lay the platform for a competitive total. Rew reached his fifty off 46 balls at the halfway mark of the innings, then shifted gears emphatically, plundering six boundaries in the next five overs as he raced toward three figures. He brought up his century with a single to long-on off his 97th delivery.

His dismissal - run out for 110 after a brilliant direct hit from Steven Hogan - was a crucial breakthrough for Australia as the four-time champions gave away just 40 from the final seven overs. But a late contribution from Farhan Ahmed, who remained unbeaten on 28, helped England post a total that would test the defending champions' mettle.

Chasing 278, Australia lost Will Malajczuk early to Alex French's cracking yorker in the sixth over before Steven Hogan's painful 23-ball struggle for just 3 runs stalled any momentum. Nitesh Samuel made a sedate 47 but Ralphie Albert and Manny Lumsden turned the screws further, dismissing Samuel and Alex Lee Young to leave Australia teetering at 116 for 4.

The Australian captain, having walked in at No. 5, launched a counter-attack, combining timing with intelligent placement as he raced to a 55-ball half-century. With Aryan Sharma providing vital support with a 23-ball 34, the pair threatened to pull off an improbable heist, adding 64 runs to keep the required rate manageable. Peake reached his century off 85 balls with Australia needing just 28 from 18 deliveries, but Aryan's dismissal, caught at deep midwicket to a slower ball from Farhan - proved the decisive blow.

As partners fell around him and severe forearm and palm cramps began to take their toll, Peake soldiered on bravely, but the weight of the chase and his physical limitations (cramps in the right leg) finally caught up with him. And still, in the 46th over, he launched a six and hit four more boundaries off Lumsden to keep Australia alive. However, in the 48th over, with only number eleven Byrom for company and the dream slipping away, Peake lofted one straight to Ben Mayes at point, ending both his magnificent innings and Australia's hopes of a fifth U19 World Cup crown.

Brief scores: England 277/7 in 50 overs (Thomas Rew 110, Caleb Falconer 40; Hayden Schiller 2-31) beat Australia 250 in 47.3 overs (Oliver Peake 100; James Minto 2-30, Sebastian Morgan 2-33) by 27 runs.