New Zealand's Southee leads race for Player of the Tournament award by International Cricket Council

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Event:

ICC Under-19 World Cup 2007/08

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DateLine: 26th February 2008

 

As the first semi-final in the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup 2008 between India and New Zealand takes place in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow, the race for the Player of the Tournament is also hotting up. Pace bowler Tim Southee is out in front and he can extend his lead when the junior Black Caps take on Dav Whatmore’s charges at Kinrara Oval.

 

Southee has been a model of consistency in the tournament so far, having picked up Player of the Tournament points in every match he has played, including his man-of-the-match performance against Sri Lanka in the quarter-final on Monday.

 

The points are allocated by the ICC umpires at each match with those officials awarding three points for their choice as man of the match, second choice getting two points and the third pick receiving one.

 

Those points are then added up to produce the Player of the Tournament. All matches, including those in the Super League play-offs and final as well as the Plate Championship, are included in the process.

 

Southee has a total of nine points having been the match officials’ second choice in New Zealand’s three group games against Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Malaysia, in Johor, as well as that three-point man of the match award in the quarter-final.

 

The Northland man is one point clear of his nearest rival, Paras Khadka of top Associate team Nepal, who won the man-of-the-match award today in his side’s Plate Championship semi-final win against Namibia in Johor.

 

Khadka in turn is another point ahead of Sachith Pathirana of Sri Lanka. Then there is a group of three on six points, which includes Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Ali Asad, West Indies vice-captain Steven Jacobs and South Africa’s leg-spinning all-rounder Jonathan Vandiar.

 

Ali and Vandiar will be going head to head in the other semi-final as Pakistan and South Africa meet on Friday at Kinrara Oval for a place in Sunday’s final.

 

It is likely that the eventual Player of the Tournament will come from the above collection but it is still possible for those on five points, or even four, to make a late burst and take the title. Among those players on five points are Pakistan’s Adil Raza, South Africa’s captain Wayne Parnell and India duo of Virat Kohli and Taruwar Kohli.

 

This is Southee’s second appearance at the U/19 CWC having also taken part at the 2006 event in Sri Lanka. He has already played nine first-class matches for Northern Districts and was selected for the senior New Zealand side in two Twenty20 Internationals earlier this season.

 

So far in the U/19 CWC 2008 Southee has taken 13 wickets in four matches at a remarkable average of 6.46 and an almost as impressive economy rate of 2.35 runs per over. He took 5-11 in one game against Zimbabwe at Johor Cricket Academy and has marked himself out as one of the stand-out players of the tournament.

 

On Wednesday, he will have to be at his very best to make an impact against India, many people’s favourite to win the title. India came out of a very competitive Group B ahead of South Africa and the West Indies and easily accounted for England in the quarter-final.

 

In the other semi-final on Friday, defending champion Pakistan will go in as favourite against South Africa but, with a long batting line-up and a couple of tricks up their sleeves, the junior Proteas could prove a tough nut to crack.

 

The bowling of skipper Wayne Parnell could be crucial, not to mention the surprise package of tricky leg-spinner Jonathan Vandiar, who himself sits only three points behind Southee in the Player of the Tournament standings.

 

As with seven other matches during this tournament, both Super League semi-finals and the final will be televised live by ICC’s host broadcaster ESPN-STAR Sports. There will also be live, ball-by-ball audio commentary courtesy of ICC’s official radio broadcast partner Hearcricket.com.

(Article: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only.
Copyright © 2008 International Cricket Council)