Under-19 World Cup 2026: Rew's century eclipses Peake's as England book spot in final

England and Australia locked horns in the first semi-final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026 at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Tuesday, February 3. England won the toss and elected to bat first.

Australia struck early as opener Ben Dawkins was out cheaply for 1(9). Number three Ben Mayes joined Joseph Moores and the duo ensured there were no further losses in the first powerplay. The partnership was flourishing, crossing the 50-run mark but Australia came back to dismiss Moores (25 off 33) leg before wicket in the 13th over.

Mayes (24 off 33) did not last long afterwards either as England were suddenly in a spot of bother. But, Caleb Falconer and captain Thomas Rew came together to stabilise the innings and saw their partnership grow steadily. The wicketkeeper-batter Rew was the aggressor among the two and notched up his third fifty-plus score of the tournament in 46 balls.

The partnership went from strength to strength, crossing the 100-run mark as well. Just when England were looking to shift one more gear up, leg spinner Naden Cooray broke the 135-run stand sending back Falconer for 40(53). England were 195/4 after 36 overs at this stage, still in a good position to post a 300+ total.

Rew, along with Ralphie Albert and Farhan Ahmed added crucial runs, keeping the momentum going. The captain, during the partnership with the former, reached his three figures in 97 balls. However, the right-hander could not last into the death overs as an unfortunate run out brought an end to his masterful innings of 110(107).

Albert (15 off 13), Ahmed (28* off 26), and Sebastian Morgan (15 off 22) helped prop up England to 277/7 in their 50 overs. For Australia, Hayden Schiller was the standout bowler with figures of 2/31 in his eight overs.

Australia began the chase briskly, scoring 31 runs in the first five overs. However, England struck back soon after to dismiss the dangerous Will Malajczuk (15 off 12). New man Steven Hogan joined Nitish Samuel and the scoring rate came down to a snail's pace. While Samuel was still going steadily, Hogan was struggling and his agonising innings came to an end for 3(23).

The partnership undid all the good work of the openers as Australia looked to revive with captain Oliver Peake and Samuel at the crease. A 62-run partnership brought the Men in Yellow back into the game to some extent before the latter was out for 47(83).

Apart from Aryan Sharma (34 off 23), the batters to come next failed to play any impactful innings. The onus was very much on Peake to take his team home as he kept losing partners at the other end. While the required run rate was not really an issue, the wickets column was.

Peake completed his second consecutive hundred as the left-hander battled with the number 11. But, James Minto ended his innings for 100(88) and England won the match by 27 runs to go through to the final. All the English bowlers ended up picking wickets and bowled effective spells throughout. Rew, for his match-winning century, was adjudged as the Player of the Match.