The ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 lies just ten days away, and preparations are in full flow as South Africa gears up to host the very best young cricketers in the world from 19 January.

The 15^th edition of the celebrated event will see 41 matches take place across 24 days of competition, with five host venues staging the action; Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, Kimberley Oval in Kimberley, JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom, Buffalo Park in East London and Willowmoore Park in Benoni – the venue selected to host the semi-finals and final encounter on 11 February.

Fans wanting to catch a glimpse of the next generation of cricket superstars can do so for free throughout the tournament, and the thrilling action of the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup will be accompanied by a vibrant festival atmosphere at grounds, with braai areas, kids’ entertainment featuring jumping castles, face painting and more, live music offerings and a mini-cricket area for young fans to show off their own budding talents, ensuring a truly memorable experience for all.

With the start of the tournament fast approaching, teams are also entering the final stages of their preparations, and warm-up fixtures are set to take place across venues in Johannesburg and Pretoria between 13 and 17 January with spectators welcome to catch every ball, live.

Each team will play two warm-up fixtures before the main event commences on 19 January, and the opening round of fixtures offers plenty of drama and excitement as a host of rivals meet to start their World Cup campaigns.

Opening day (19 January) will see Potchefstroom host South Africa’s opening match against another former U19 champion, West Indies.

The young Proteas, led by captain David Teeger will be eager to start with a victory, and there is no shortage of excitement amongst the group.

South Africa U19 skipper Teeger: “The team and I cannot wait for the World Cup to start. The opportunity to play in such an esteemed tournament is a real honour and we are really excited to represent our country.

“With it being a home World Cup, it really is a once in a lifetime experience and we cannot wait to do the Mzansi nation proud.”

Ireland and USA go head-to-head in Bloemfontein also on opening day before India start the defence of their crown against Bangladesh at the same venue a day later on 20 January, in a repeat of the 2020 final. Both captains are looking forward to getting their campaigns off to a positive start.

India U19 captain Uday Saharan: “Our preparation has been intense, and the team has been working tirelessly to fine-tune every aspect of our game. We understand the challenges that come with representing our country at this level, but the excitement within the squad is palpable.

“The prospect of competing against the best U19 teams from around the world is both thrilling and motivating. We have a great blend of talent, determination, and team spirit, and we are looking forward to embracing the competition and giving our best on the field.”

Bangladesh U19 captain Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby: “We are very excited. Most players at this age level get one opportunity to participate in a U19 World Cup and we want to make this event a memorable one. We don't have to look far for inspiration. We became Asian champions only last month and four years ago our predecessors won the World Cup.

“We will go there to win the World Cup. Bangladesh has done that before and there is no reason why we can't carry the momentum from the Asia Cup to South Africa.”

Two further rivals lock horns on 20 January, as finalists from the previous edition England take on Scotland in Potchefstroom and Pakistan and Afghanistan meet in East London.

England U19 captain Ben McKinney: “This is the first U19 World Cup for all the players, and we want to show how exciting we are as a team.

“We want to showcase our skills and impose ourselves on each and every game, with an overall aim to go on and to win the tournament.”

Scotland U19 captain Owen Gould: "We are absolutely buzzing…It’s a huge honour to be representing Scotland. It’ll really sink in when we take to the pitch in the first game. Even to be playing in the qualifiers last summer was special, but this is just the next level up.

“That first England game is the big one. The rivalry, and it being the first game of the tournament… I think we’ll all be buzzing for it.”

Afghanistan U19 captain Naseer Khan Maroof Khil: “Including me, all the boys are very enthusiastic and committed. No doubt, it is an outstanding learning platform to show our talent and skills to the world.

“As we got to the semi-finals last time, the boys are eager to get to the final this time and win the trophy for the country.”

Warm-up fixtures

Saturday 13 January

USA v Namibia, Tuks Oval, Pretoria

India v Australia, TUT Oval, Pretoria

South Africa v Pakistan, St Stithians, Johannesburg

Nepal v Scotland, Braamfischer Oval, Johannesburg

Sunday 14 January

Ireland v Zimbabwe, Tuks Oval, Pretoria

Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, TUT Oval, Pretoria

England v Afghanistan, St Stithians, Johannesburg

New Zealand v West Indies, Braamfischer Oval, Johannesburg

Tuesday 16 January

Namibia v Ireland, Tuks Oval, Pretoria

Zimbabwe v USA, TUT Oval, Pretoria

West Indies v Nepal, St Stithians, Johannesburg

South Africa v Afghanistan, Braamfischer Oval, Johannesburg

Wednesday 17 January

Sri Lanka v India, Tuks Oval, Pretoria

Australia v Bangladesh, TUT Oval, Pretoria

Scotland v New Zealand, St Stithians, Johannesburg

Pakistan v England, Braamfischer Oval, Johannesburg

India completed the quickest victory in Test history, levelling their series against South Africa by winning early on the second afternoon in Cape Town.

The tourists chased down a fourth innings total of 79 in just 12 overs at Newlands to wrap up the entire game, scheduled to end on Sunday evening, in just 642 balls.

That made it the shortest Test win ever recorded in terms of deliveries bowled, shaving 14 off a record that has stood since 1932, when South Africa were also on the losing side against Australia in Melbourne.

Over the course of little more than four sessions of cricket, a wicket fell less than every 20 balls on average.

The Proteas, who won well in a hard-fought opening Test in Centurion, were dismissed for 55 on the first morning and improved to 176 only because of a solo effort from Aiden Markram, who made a backs-to-the-wall 106.

The opener’s effort was easily the standout knock of a breakneck encounter, as he occupied the crease for 164 minutes and faced 103 balls.

But with no other resistance as Jasprit Bumrah completed a haul of six for 61, it only delayed the inevitable.

India began their pursuit after lunch and wasted no time getting over the line.

They lost three wickets along the way, Yashavi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli all keeping the revolving door to the pavilion moving, but picked up 52 in boundaries as they ensured an unprecedentedly-swift conclusion.

Questions are sure to be asked over the state of the pitch, with the match officials to decide if the freakish brevity of the match was down to batting error or a poor surface.

A remarkable 23 wickets fell on the first day of the second Test in Cape Town, with South Africa bowled out for just 55 and India succumbing to a shocking collapse of their own.

More wickets have fallen in a single day just four times in the history of Test cricket, with ball dominating bat throughout three breathless sessions that ushered the game towards a rapid conclusion at Newlands.

At stumps South Africa were 62 for three in the second innings, only 36 behind after India had lost their last six wickets for no runs in the space of 11 deliveries. From 153 for four they were rounded up in successive overs by the inspired pairing of Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada without adding to their total.

Dean Elgar, South Africa’s retiring stand-in captain, suffered the ignominy of ending his international batting career with two dismissals on the same day but at least shared that pain with team-mates Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs.

Elgar had won the toss and opted to bat in the morning but saw his decision blow up spectacularly as India skittled the hosts for their lowest Test score in 92 years.

Mohammed Siraj did most of the damage with figures of six for 15, with two apiece for Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar, the latter without conceding a run, as the innings subsided in less than 24 overs.

India took the lead in just 10 overs after lunch, Rohit Sharma taking the attack to the home seamers with a rapid 39. The tourists were primed to hammer home a big advantage at 105 for two with Shubman Gill (36) and Virat Kohli (46) at the crease, but there was another twist in the tale.

Things took a huge handbrake turn in the 33rd over when Ngidi dismissed KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Bumrah in a triple-wicket maiden.

Unbelievably, three more fell in the next five deliveries at the other end, Rabada taking care of Kohli and Prasidh Krishna either side of Siraj’s run out.

The third innings of the day got under way in the evening session, Kumar picking up two more and Bumrah adding a third as Aiden Markram’s 36 not out offered some belated resistance from the Proteas.

West Indies cricket has again found itself in the firing line, as Australian Test legend Steve Waugh has called for the intervention of cricket's world governing body, International Cricket Council (ICC), to salvage the credibility of the game's longest format, after South Africa followed the Caribbean selector’s lead and opted for an understrength Test side.

West Indies recently named seven uncapped players in a weakened 15-man squad for two Tests against Australia later this month, while South Africa also selected seven debutants for their two-Test series in New Zealand next month.

This, as South Africa’s top players have been allowed to focus their efforts on the shorter format, as the New Zealand tour clashes with the country’s premier Twenty20 domestic tournament.

"It's going to happen if the South African Cricket Board are any indication of the future, keeping their best players at home," Waugh said.

"If I was New Zealand, I wouldn't even play the series. I don't know why they're even playing. Why would you when it shows a lack of respect for New Zealand cricket?

"It's pretty obvious what the problem is — the West Indies aren't sending their full-strength side [to Australia this summer]. They haven't picked a full-strength Test team for a couple of years now.

"Someone like Nicholas Pooran is really a Test batsman who doesn't play Test cricket. Jason Holder, probably their best player, is not playing now. Even Pakistan didn't send a full side [to Australia],” he argued.

Both Holder, the Caribbean side's leading all-rounder, and batting all-rounder Kyle Mayers, skipped the Australia tour to explore T20 franchise opportunities.

While he acknowledged there is little financial incentive for smaller nations to play Test cricket, Waugh called for a standardised fee to be implemented by the ICC.

"If the ICC or someone doesn't step in shortly then Test cricket doesn't become Test cricket because you're not testing yourself against the best players,” Waugh said.

"I understand why players don't come; they're not getting paid properly. I don't understand why ICC or the top countries who are making a lot of money don't just have a regulation set fee for Test matches which is a premium so [that] people are incentivised to play Test Cricket. Otherwise, they'll just play T10 or T20.

"The public are the ones who are going to suffer because it's not the full side playing so it's not Test cricket,” he added.

Dean Elgar began his farewell series with an accomplished unbeaten century to put South Africa ahead of India on day two of the first Test at Centurion.

Elgar will retire from international cricket after next week’s clash in Cape Town and offered a fitting reminder of his qualities with a polished 140 not out – his first Proteas ton in nearly three years.

The 36-year-old occupied the crease for 66 overs, facing 211 deliveries and cracking 23 fours to lead his side to 256 for five. That put South Africa into a narrow lead of 11, with the tourists having earlier been bowled out for 245.

KL Rahul, resuming on 70 overnight, completed a superb century of his own as he scored 31 of his side’s 37 runs in the morning session. He was last man out, bowled by debutant Nadre Burger, having almost single-handedly kept India competitive.

With Elgar holding firm at the top of the order and captain Temba Bavuma absent with a hamstring injury, India successfully chipped away Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi and Keegan Petersen to leave the hosts 113 for three.

But another newcomer, Durham batter David Bedingham, helped South Africa press ahead with an elegant 56 in his maiden Test innings. He put on 131 alongside Elgar, who brought up his 14th hundred, before being cleaned up by Mohamed Siraj.

Kyle Verreyne followed as Prasidh Krishna opened his account as a Test bowler before bad light brought an early finish.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Monday announced the West Indies Rising Stars Men’s Under 19s squad for the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup. The 15th edition of the tournament will be played in South Africa from 19 January to 11 February 2024.

Top-order batter Stephan Pascal has been named as Captain with Nathan Sealy, the slow bowling allrounder as Vice-Captain. The 15-member squad features most of the players who toured Sri Lanka for three Youth One-Day Internationals (50-over matches) and two four-day “Test” matches in August and September.

The squad includes three players who played in the 2022 ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup which was staged in the West Indies. They are: fast bowler Isai Thorne, left-handed allrounder Nathan Edward and left-handed batter Jordan Johnson.

Thorne made his first-class debut for the West Indies Academy against Emerging Ireland last month and impressed with his pace. He took 12 wickets in two matches at an average of 6.16 per wicket. Johnson joined the West Indies A Team on the recent tour of South Africa where he made his first-class debut in the third and final four-day “Test” match.

The squad has assembled in Antigua for a one-week camp at the Coolidge Cricket Ground. During the camp, they will have training and fitness sessions along with planning sessions and personal development workshops.

Lead Selector Robert Haynes said:

“We have named a balanced squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup and we expect them to do very well in this prestigious international event. We had a good tour of Sri Lanka in August and September where the players gained valuable experience. This helped to prepare them for the upcoming assignment. Since that tour, we also had a camp in Trinidad where we played against the USA Under-19 and the Trinidad & Tobago Under-23 teams. They will be match-fit and mentally fully prepared when they journey to South Africa.”

Haynes added:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for these young men to represent the West Indies and showcase their talent, playing against their peers, in front of a global audience. This is a crucial stage in their development. They have received excellent preparation, help, and guidance from the coaches and support staff, and we expect to see them do very well.”

For the tournament, the West Indies have been drawn alongside hosts South Africa, Scotland, and England in Group B for their first-round matches. All three matches will be played at the J.B. Marks Oval in Potchefstroom. Before that, they will have warm-up matches against New Zealand and Nepal in Johannesburg.

India, who won the tournament in 2022 and are placed in Group A with Bangladesh, Ireland and the USA. Group C features Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, while Group D is made up of Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand and Nepal. The top three sides from each group will progress to the Super Six phase to be played from 30 January to 3 February. The Semi-Finals will be on 6 and 8 February and the Final is on 11 February at Willowmore Park in Benoni.

FULL SQUAD  

Stephan Pascal (Captain) – right-handed bat 

Nathan Sealy (Vice Captain) – right-handed bat/left-arm spin

Jewel Andrew – right-handed bat/wicket-keeper

Mavendra Dindyal – right-handed bat/right-arm leg-spin bowler

Joshua Dorne – right-handed bat

Nathan Edward – left-handed bat/left-arm fast bowler

Tarrique Edward – right-handed bat/right-arm off-spin bowler

Reon Edwards – left-handed bat/left-arm fast bowler

Deshawn James – right-handed bat/right-arm fast bowler

Jordan Johnson – left-handed bat

Devonie Joseph – left-handed bat/wicket-keeper

Raneico Smith – right-handed bat/right-arm fast bowler

Isai Thorne – right-handed bat/right-arm fast bowler

Steve Wedderburn – left-handed bat

Adrian Weir – right-handed bat 

Team Management

Rohan Nurse (Head Coach)

Rohan Clarke (Assistant Coach)

Nick Wilton (Assistant Coach)

Dwain Gill (Team Manager)

Dominic Angoy (Physiotherapist)

Gregory Seale (Strength and Conditioning Coach)

MATCH SCHEDULE 

Warm-up matches

Sunday, 14 January: vs New Zealand at Braamfischer Oval, Johannesburg

Tuesday, 16 January: vs Nepal at St Stithians, Johannesburg

First round – Group B

Friday, 19 January: vs South Africa at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom

Wednesday, 24 January: vs Scotland at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom

Friday, 26 January: vs England at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom

Fran Williams admitted being asked to be captain of the England team for their upcoming series against South Africa came “a bit out of the blue” as preparations continued for the opening game on Tuesday.

The Loughborough Lightning player will lead the Vitality Roses in their tri-series against the SPAR Proteas, which begins on December 5 in Manchester followed by two games on December 9 and 10 in Nottingham.

Working in a wider leadership group alongside Eleanor Cardwell and Imogen Allison, Williams will lead the team for the first time and revealed that while receiving the captaincy was unexpected, she was looking forward to the opportunity.

“(It was) a bit out of the blue, I was having a catch-up meeting with Jess (Thirlby) our head coach about something completely separate and not relevant to leadership roles and captaincy,” Williams told the PA news agency.

“Then at the end of the meeting she asked if I’d want to be captain, if I’d take on that honour and I said ‘I don’t have to think about it, I’d love to do that opportunity’.

“Then I walked away and thought ‘gosh that’s actually a big deal, maybe I should have thought about this a bit more!’.

“There’s nothing better than being able to represent the team and it’s just such an easy role to take on when you’ve got a group and a squad like we have who are so willing to get stuck in, always seeing the positives, want to jump on board and get involved in as much as possible.”

December’s fixtures will be England’s first games back on home turf since winning silver at the Netball World Cup over the summer, where they fell to a 61-45 defeat against Australia in the final.

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Williams played a pivotal part in the tournament, providing a vital interception in the dying minutes of their semi-final against reigning champions New Zealand and reflected on a “history-making moment” reaching the final.

“I think at the time and in that moment of the final it was obviously devastating,” Williams said.

“To lose against Australia particularly when – bearing in mind it was a tight game – we’d beaten them only a few days before.

“However, when I look back now, I have nothing but pride for the way we performed this summer as a Roses squad. Not just players but all the staff and the journey we’d been on to reaching that historic final and getting our first-ever silver medal at a Netball World Cup, it was still a history-making moment.

“Not just the final result but also the memories I have with that team. Not just in the prep camp before, but the years before leading to us being able to do that is what I’ll take away from the experience the most.

“It’s so exciting to see where we could end up in four years’ time. Now I’ve got that springboard and motivation from being that close in the summer to really want to go for it those next four years.”

There are plenty of new faces in the Roses squad for the South Africa series with five players preparing to make their home international debuts and Williams was looking forward to the “new opportunities ahead”.

She added: “We’ve got a fresh-looking squad, new opportunities lying ahead and whilst it’s so important we carry those stories and lessons learned from the summer and make sure we’re all on the same page and everyone – even if you weren’t there – gets to learn from what worked well in the summer to get to that point and what we could do better to get us over the line in that final in four years’ time.

“There’s also the opportunity to create our own memories and our own history with a new squad.”

West Indies “A” will have it all to do on Saturday’s fourth and final day of their second unofficial “Test” match against South Africa “A” if they want to go 2-0 up in the three-match series.

Friday saw the West Indians end day three 134-5 off 41 overs, needing a further 308 runs for victory on day four at Buffalo Park in East London.

Zachary McCaskie hit a 90-ball 50 to top score for the West Indies, so far.

Tevin Imlach (16) and Kevin Sinclair (15) are the batsmen at the crease.

Off-spinner Dane Piedt ended the day with 3-57 from 14 overs.

Earlier, South Africa began day three 65-1 with a lead of 209 runs and continued to drive the West Indies further back through some excellent batting.

Tony De Zorzi (34) and Raynard Van Tonder (20) were the batsmen at the crease at the start of the day.

De Zorzi fell pretty quickly for 37 and that wicket brought Keegan Petersen to the crease to join Van Tonder.

Van Tonder was able to score his second half-century of the game with a 74-ball 56 before he fell in the 39^th over with South Africa “A” cruising at 139-3.

Petersen carried on, batting beautifully on his way to an unbeaten 112 off 134 balls, following up his 67 in the first innings.

Khaya Zondo (49) and Ruan De Swardt (29*) also provided excellent contributions as the hosts declared on 297-4 off 71.3 overs, setting the West Indies a target of 442 for victory.

Full Scores:

South Africa “A” 298 off 97.2 overs (Keegan Petersen 67, Raynard Van Tonder 50, Tony De Zorzi 44, Ruan De Swardt 42, Akeem Jordan 3-43, Shamar Joseph 3-57, Kevin Sinclair 2-53, Jair McAllister 2-64) & 297-4 dec. off 71.3 overs (Keegan Petersen 112*, Raynard Van Tonder 56, Khaya Zondo 49)

West Indies “A” 154 off 47.2 overs (Zachary McCaskie 62, Dane Piedt 5-28, Tshepo Moreki 3-66) & 134-5 off 41 overs (Zachary McCaskie 50, Dane Piedt 3-57)

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says a delegation from the Government of South Africa will visit Jamaica this week to conduct a study tour of the island’s sports programme.

The delegation is being led by the South African Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, the Honourable Nocawe Noncedo Mafu.

Minister Grange says the visit is part of the bilateral agreement between Jamaica and South Africa for cooperation in sports and recreation.  

The visit, which begins on Tuesday (tomorrow), is also a follow-up to the Jamaica/South Africa Political Consultations last year in which South Africa expressed an interest in better understanding Jamaica’s sports development model.

Minister Grange will host the South African delegation in discussions about Jamaica’s sports policy framework, national sports organisations, anti-doping, facilities management and sports financing.

The South African delegation will also receive presentations by the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association and the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association; and visit institutions, including the University of Technology and the GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sports.

Earlier this year, Jamaica hosted a sports study tour by a delegation from the Trinidad and Tobago government.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc was looking forward to “a great spectacle of cricket” after his side book their spot in the World Cup final against hosts India.

Starc helped Australia conquer South Africa in the semi-final at Eden Gardens, claiming three for 34 and holding up his end in a vital partnership with captain Pat Cummins during the closing moments of a tense chase.

In the end Australia squeaked home by three wickets in a low-scoring encounter, with Starc’s new-ball burst doing a huge amount of heavy lifting.

He set the tone for the day by removing Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma in the first over, then dismissed Aiden Markram as he and Josh Hazlewood reduced their opponents to 24 for four.

The intensity is only going to be dialled up when they take on undefeated home favourites India in Ahmedabad on Sunday, with up to 100,000 locals ready to roar their nation on at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

And it is a prospect Starc is ready to embrace.

“It’s certainly going to be a big occasion, a World Cup Final in India. It’s going to be loud,” he said.

“I think it’s just going to be a great spectacle of cricket, no doubt. There’s going to be a lot of passion there. Certainly, everyone in our changing room is looking forward to it.

“I don’t think either changing room is new to big occasions. You want to take on the best and that’s why we play the game. They’ve been the best team in the tournament so far and we both find ourselves in the final. That’s what World Cups are about.”

Starc’s skipper, Cummins, was equally enthused about the prospect having been part of Australia’s last ODI world champion squad on home soil eight years ago.

“The stadium is going to be packed, pretty one-sided, but we’ve got to embrace it,” he said.

“The 2015 World Cup was a career highlight, so to be out there in a final in India, I can’t wait.”

Starc agreed with the idea that over the course of a hard-fought contest against South Africa, Australia’s victory lay in their aggression during the powerplay overs. While he and Hazlewood established a stranglehold over the batters, Travis Head and David Warner went on the attack as they raided 60 runs off the first six.

On both occasions, damage was done that could not be clawed back by the Proteas.

“We’ve seen throughout the tournament how tough the first 10 overs can be at certain times…when you’re willing to take the game on like that, sometimes you take a little bit of luck with you,” he said.

“It certainly went to plan with the ball today and the way we set up with the bat is to really be aggressive, take the game on and the freedom to give those guys to go out and play the way they like to.”

Losing coach Rob Walter gave South Africa credit for battling back into contention after their early collapse, making 212 on the back of David Miller’s 101, and insisted the age-old tag of ‘chokers’ was no longer fitting.

“It’s obviously gutting to lose a semi-final but beyond that, I’m incredibly proud of the fight shown by the lads,” he said.

“I guess you need to define what a ‘choke’ is. For me, a choke is losing a game that you’re in a position to win. In this instance, we were behind the eight ball right from the word go and we actually fought our way back into the competition and put up a score that gave us a chance.

“For me there’s nothing even remotely close to a choke that happened out there today. It’s a serious contest between two good teams, number two and three in the tournament.”

Australia will take on India in Sunday’s World Cup final after edging South Africa in a nerve-wracking semi-final at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

The five-time winners will face the all-conquering hosts in Ahmedabad following a tense three-wicket win against the Proteas, who fought back hard after a calamitous start with the bat.

Captain Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc were the key figures in dragging Australia through, taking three wickets apiece in a pace bowling exhibition then coming together with bats in hand to negotiate a decisive eighth-wicket stand at the death.

South Africa had bossed this fixture a month ago in the group stages, winning by a huge 134-run margin, but appeared to be leaning into the reputation as knockout ‘chokers’ when they slumped to 24 for four in less than 12 overs.

A brilliant, defiant 101 from David Miller lifted the gloom and gave his side a total of 212 to bowl at before a wearing pitch offered enough encouragement to push Australia close.

Opener Travis Head carved 62 off the target at the top of the innings, but wickets fell regularly, with spin playing a major role, to leave a tricky path to the finish line.

Gerald Coetzee dismissed Steve Smith (30) and Josh Inglis (28) to leave Australia relying on their lower order, with Cummins and Starc up to the mark.

They put on 22 in 46 painstaking deliveries, with Cummins dropped by wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock with nine still needed before slashing the winning boundary behind point.

Australia will now head to their eighth World Cup final, looking to upset an India team with a 100 percent record at their own tournament in a repeat of the 2003 showpiece.

Australia captain Pat Cummins is sure the five-time World Cup winners can use past experience of the big occasion to their advantage when they take on South Africa in Kolkata.

Cummins’ side are on a roll since losing against tournament hosts India and their opponents on Thursday, winning their remaining seven group-stage matches to storm into yet another semi-final.

South Africa might have prevailed in Lucknow and in an ODI series between the teams in September, but Australia have significantly more experience than the Proteas in the knockouts of a major tournament.

Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were part of the 2015 trophy-winning campaign as well as the T20 World Cup triumph two years ago.

The Australia captain said: “What helps us is we’ve got a lot of guys that have been in this situation before that have won one-day World Cup, T20 World Cup, various other tournaments in big moments.

“You can draw on that in the middle of the contest. Obviously you start from scratch every time you play. They’re a team we’ve played quite a lot and know quite well.

“But this week it’s probably going to be quite different to say the South African series that we just played against them a couple of months ago.”

Australia memorably knocked out South Africa at the same stage in 1999 at Edgbaston, where a tied match went the way of Steve Waugh’s side because they finished higher in the group stage on net run-rate.

The finale is one of the most replayed of all-time as Allan Donald was chaotically run out, despite South Africa still having two balls in which to get the solitary run they needed for victory.

Cummins said: “It’s kind of folklore, isn’t it? I’ve seen that replay heaps of times, you hear the stories.”

Australia have steadily grown in confidence in India, emboldened by Maxwell’s rescue act against Afghanistan as his 201 not out secured a dramatic win and was widely hailed as the best ODI knock ever.

Marsh ensured a seventh straight victory with an unbeaten 177 against Bangladesh, so Australia will head into their Eden Gardens showdown with plenty of optimism.

Cummins added: “As a team you grow an extra leg because you feel like you can win a match from anywhere and having someone like Maxi in your team is just a complete luxury. He’s a superstar, he’s a freak.”

After a fairly decent showing on day one action, Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls will be hoping to return to winning ways on the second and decisive day of the Fast5 Netball World Series, as they push for a medal in Christchurch, New Zealand on Saturday.

The Jamaicans, who defeated Australia 38-36 and Malawi 41-37 courtesy of some classy long-range shooting from goal-attack Gezelle Allison, failed to go unbeaten on the day, after being hammered by South Africa in a 17-33 loss.

Still, they remain on course for a spot in the medal round with only New Zealand, Australia and England –all of whom also had two wins and a loss –ahead of them on goal difference.

With that in mind, Shawn Murdock, is cautiously optimistic that the Sunshine Girls will achieve the feat, though they are scheduled to face two tough opponents in New Zealand and England.

“As always when we face England and New Zealand it’s never an easy encounter.  The English showed some fight yesterday and they are perhaps our biggest rivals internationally over the years; New Zealand are playing at home and are still smarting from their World Cup performance.

“So I expect the home crowd and their hurt from their World Cup campaign to be major factors for them.  So we just have to control the controllable from our end and ensure we are scoring goals consistently and our defenders are winning balls to provide more opportunities for us,” Murdock told SportsMax.TV.

“As you know, five doesn’t go in three, so it’s game on for a place in the medal matches. Still a major mountain to climb as five of the six teams are all in a position to still make the gold medal match. Only two can make it though, and so I expect all the teams to come battling hard today,” he added.

Jamaica’s day one performance already represents a significant step up from last year’s outing when they failed to win a single game. For that, Murdock, who is co-coaching with Nicole Aikin-Pinnock, expressed pleasure with the team’s display on Friday’s opening day.

“We are pleased with the performance of the ladies. We are from a country that loves winning so we were disappointed we never got three victories yesterday because that would have placed us in prime position heading into the two other matches today. We, however, are proud of how the ladies have performed so far,” he said.

Much like she did against the Australian Diamonds, Allison again scored a last-ditched six-pointer, to lift the Jamaicans over Malawi, in a contest where their East African counterparts lead for most of the way.

Sloppy ball handling by the Jamaicans, who led the first quarter 12-6, allowed Malawi to assert their authority from the second stanza onward.

It wasn’t until the backend of the third quarter that they started a rally and with a mere two points separating the teams in the closing stages of the fourth, Allison came up trumps with another big six-pointer in the powerplay seconds to end with 24 goals.

Captain and veteran goal-shooter Romelda Aiken-George scored 13 goals from 12 attempts, while Amanda Pinkney and Rhea Dixon both scored two goals.

However, they failed to repeat the heroics of their two earlier wins, as their shooting returns ran cold against a plucky South African team that burst their bubble.

Despite that, Murdock and his Sunshine Girls know a win over England and, or New Zealand would all put them in the final two.

“The mood heading into day two action is very positive. Of course there was a level of sadness from the ladies not being able to secure all three wins last evening, but we’ve placed that loss and yesterday behind us. 

“It’s a new day, all teams start again, so we are focusing on trying to replicate or do better than how we performed in our first match yesterday. The game is about scoring goals, and so we’ve done what we can to ensure our shooters and the overall team got enough recovery to face the day ahead,” the coach shared.

Action is scheduled for 5:45pm Jamaica time.

Live coverage will be on SportsMax and SportsMax 2