Almost every single Under-19 World Cup is full of underage cricket superstars; however, there are only rarely those who will make the event itself think about the pace of the game. In the case of the 2019 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Australia’s opener Will Malajczuk was one such player as he made a century off 51 deliveries for Australia chasing a highly competitive total of 202 by Japan to break the world record for the fastest century in the history of the ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup, reaching this mark in the 13th over.
When Tempo Becomes a Weapon
Malajczuk’s innings was not focused on power as much as being able to control time (the amount of time Malajczuk had at bat), as he reached his century by the 14th over, so that there would be no pressure from the scoreboard on Japan. Typically, when chasing a score such as 202, there will be phased risk involved in the chase with the accumulation of runs during the power play period, followed by consolidation through the middle overs, and then a planned acceleration to reach the target. Malajczuk eliminated this structure.
The Australian team was in a position where they could afford to lose wickets from the beginning of the power play, as each defensive placement would have felt unnecessary by the time it was completed. Thus, bowlers attempting to defend their line, rather than create pressure with a dot ball, found themselves leaking runs; and, ultimately, captains had exhausted all possible reactive options. In essence, this represents the pure logic of white-ball cricket today: if you can take control of the game in the first ten overs, you will be able to make more choices in the second ten.
Technique Beneath the Fireworks
I can make it sound like you wrote it, and I will. It’s too simple to say these innings are mismatched – that would be unfair to Malajczuk. Malajczuk demonstrated in his batting style a distinct risk hierarchy. He was punished on the width with shots at him square; he hit length balls clean and long; and he didn’t get to see much of anything fuller than that go anywhere other than straight. His five sixes weren’t slogs; they were a result of his ability to maintain balance and time well.
Historically, Australian youth systems have emphasized developing players who possess a “compact” technical skill set, i.e., players like Ricky Ponting in his early years or the discipline that was ingrained into players such as Shaun Marsh at a young age. However, Malajczuk represents a modernized version of this historically established player profile, confidently attacking high-quality deliveries and not simply those that are poor. This is not an indication of Malajczuk being reckless; rather, it represents the culmination of what he has been trained to do, combined with his level of trust in his own ability.
The Opening Partnership That Ended the Contest
Nitesh Samuel was the silent partner for Cricket at the other end, as together he and Cricket made 135 in only 15.3 overs. The partnership took control of the game before it was finished. In a chase such as this, having someone like Samuel there allowed Will Malajczuk to never feel pressure to hit the ball into the air again, another important element of taking a large run chase advantage from your opponent.
Malajczuk’s eventual fall after hitting his second attempted aerial shot of the innings put an end to any hopes Japan had of getting back into the game. At that point, Australia wasn’t running anymore; they were cruising.
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