Harare: Ben Mayes’ marathon knock and consistent bowling effort helped England to a mammoth 252-run win over Scotland in the 17th match of the 2026 ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup at the Takashinga Sports Club on Wednesday.
The win saw England finish top of Group C with six points from three matches, while Scotland are third with one point from as many games.
England’s win saw second-placed Pakistan advance to the Super Six stage with two points from two matches and will next face Zimbabwe in their final group-stage match on Thursday.
Batting first, England amassed a massive 404/6 in 50 overs, adding 188 runs for the second wicket between Mayes and Joseph Moores.
The duo restored England to 12/1 in 2.4 overs after opener Ben Dawkins (five) fell to Finlay Jones, then in the 25th over Moores smashed a massive 81 off 65 balls with the help of five fours and a six.
Mayes, on the other hand, remained steadfast and controlled England’s innings till the 46th over, and scored a magnificent 191 off 117 balls with 18 fours and 8 sixes, and was adjudged man of the match.
Jake Woodhouse took Scotland’s leading wickets with three scalps, but the price was high as he conceded 88 runs from his 10 overs. Jones conceded 50 runs in his eight overs and took two wickets before Max Chaplin managed a scalp.
Chasing a target of 405 runs, Scotland’s batting unit were bowled out for 152 runs in 44.5 overs.
Middle-order batsman Finlay Carter top-scored with 34 off 55 balls, followed by Chaplin (22) and Ethan Ramsey (22 not out).
Caleb Falconer took 3 for 19 in his 4.5 overs to spark England’s bowling, followed by Manny Lumston and Ralphie Albert with 2 each, Alex Green, Luke Hands and Farhan Ahmed taking a scalp each.
A crushing defeat leaves Scotland dependent on the outcome of the rest of the Group C competition as a win or exit for Zimbabwe would bring the curtains down on their U19 World Cup 2026 campaign.