India took out the under-19 international cricket series on Friday, demolishing Australia by eight wickets in the final at Marrara Oval in Darwin.
India never looked troubled in their run chase and reached Australia’s disappointing total of 75 in only the 16th over to finish unbeaten in the the series which also featured New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Indian captain Vijay Zol won player of the series after dominating with the bat.
Australian fast bowler Matt Fotia was the only player to snare a five-for during the tournament and finished top of the bowling table with 10 wickets at an average of 17.20. Teammate Cam Valente was also impressive to finish second with nine scalps at 15.89.
The 16-year-old Jake Doran was the best of the Aussie batsmen throughout the series with a spectacular average of 195 and an aggregate of 195 runs (second behind Zol’s 284 runs).
The international series is part of Cricket Australia’s (CA) under-19 high performance program and has a decorated history of producing the next generation of Australian players including Michael Clarke, James Pattinson and Ashton Agar.
CA’s national talent manager Greg Chappell has worked in the past three U-19 programs, including identifying and nurturing the talent of Agar and Pat Cummins, and has watched the U-19 series in Darwin closely.
Chappell said Australian cricket fans had a lot to look forward to in coming years.
“Doran is the quintessential all-round cricketer for the modern era for he is an accomplished wicketkeeper who also bowls some handy left-arm seamers.
“(He) shows enormous potential as a left-hand middle-order player in the mould of Michael Hussey,” Chappell said.
Chappell also identified opener Matthew Short as another batsman to watch, and said he had been impressed by young bowlers Fotia and Valente.
“(Short) has shown enormous potential as a stroke player and is also a promising offspin bowler who fields well. He has already been recognised by Cricket Victoria with a rookie contract for next season.
“(Fotia) is a strongly built young man who likes to bowl fast and who loves a chat.
“(Valente) is a clever medium-fast bowler and lower middle-order batsman from South Australia. Cam is a competitive young man who has a good understanding of the tactical requirements of the game and is a proven wicket taker,” Chappell said.
Australia underperformed with the bat the Darwin series but Chappell said it was up to the players to use these experiences as a good learning opportunity.
“Early signs suggest that talent is not the problem. It will come down to how much is learnt from the experiences; then it is down to commitment, desire and execution,” Chappell said.
Australia are preparing for the ICC under-19 World Cup in Dubai next February. The next test for the Aussie U-19s will be a quad series against India, South Africa and Zimbabwe in India in September.