CANTERBURY, England, (CMC) – Pacers Andel Gordon, Johann Layne and Isai Thorne bowled their hearts out for West Indies Under-19s, but England Under-19s held their nerve and formally clinched their Youth One-day International series with a nail-biting, one-wicket win on Tuesday.

Gordon stood out with three for 37, Layne supported with three for 40 and Thorne took two for 41 – all from nine-over spells – and the Windies made the English scrap all the way in their successful chase of 167 for victory in the fifth Youth ODI at the Polo Farm.

West Indies Under-19 fast bowler Johann Layne … finished with three wickets.
Not for the first time in the series, the Caribbean side put themselves in the frame for victory when Layne had Nathan Barnwell caught behind and Josh Boyden bowled in successive overs with England still needing 12 to win.

But West Indies Under-19s could not find the spark in the closing overs and George Bell finished with an unbeaten 60 off 115 balls to guide the England Under-19s over the finish line with six balls to spare.

The Windies Under-19s trail 1-4 in the six-match series, which ends on Friday here, after winning only the third Youth ODI last Wednesday at the Kent County Ground in Beckenham.

Earlier, left-handed opener Matthew Nandu, son of former Guyana left-arm spinner Arjune Nandu, led the West Indies Under-19s’ batting with 51 from 58 balls that included only three fours, before the touring side were bowled out for 166 in 41 overs.

Nandu shared 57 with his captain, Ackeem Auguste for the third wicket and held the Windies Under-19s’ top-order batting together before he fell in the 25th over and they slumped to 119 for five.

Auguste supported with 32 and Giovonte de Peiza made a tidy 34, but the rest of the batting was a let-down, and the Caribbean side lost their last five wickets for 21 in 51 balls.