Davina Perrin ruthlessly attacked USA's bowling unit to score 74 out of England's total of 120 in a breezy chase as England U19 Women downed the Americans by eight wickets to top Group B at the 2025 ICC Women's U19 T20 World Cup. 

Photo credit: ICC/Getty Images

By Peter Della Penna (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
In a battle to decide who would top Group B at the 2025 ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup, it was England who outmuscled USA behind a blistering half-century from opener Davina Perrin as USA saw their first innings total of 119 for 5 chased down with 5.4 overs to spare in an eight wicket defeat at Johor Cricket Academy Oval in Malaysia. Perrin was named Player of the Match for her 74 off 45 balls, including nine fours and three sixes, to top-score in the chase. 
 
In the day’s other Group B match, Ireland defeated Pakistan by 13 runs in a match reduced to nine overs a side. The combination of results means that USA finished second in Group B, but will take through two points from their win over Ireland and a solid net run rate of +0.995 into the Super Six stage. Had Pakistan beaten Ireland, USA would have carried a single point and a negative net run rate into the Super Six stage. Based on results in Group C, USA will take on Group C third-placed side New Zealand in their first Super Six stage match on Saturday January 25 before playing Group C winners South Africa on Tuesday January 28. USA beat both sides in unofficial warmup matches before the start of the U19 World Cup. If they can beat both sides again, USA would have an excellent chance of reaching the tournament semi-finals. 
 
USA elected to play an unchanged XI from their win over Ireland and were sent in to bat first after losing the toss. England opened the bowling with left-arm spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman and the strategy paid off in her second over as Disha Dhingra fell for 6 in the third, bowled while playing inside the line of a flighted delivery that dipped and spun back to clip off stump. Corteen-Coleman nearly had two in the over but a flat drive by Isani Vaghela was put down by Jemima Spence at mid-off, ultimately resulting in a boundary. Offspinner Prisha Thanawala created another chance in the fifth after replacing Corteen-Coleman, who wound up pouching the catch at mid-off on a skied heave by Vaghela for 10 to make it 24 for 2. 
 
Thanawala struck again in the seventh, getting Chetna Reddy Padygyala in identical fashion with a skied heave to a full delivery taken by Corteen-Coleman at mid-on for 10 to make it 29 for 3. Vice-captain Aditi Chudasama became the third player in a row to sky a drive to a fielder on the ring, picking out England U19 Women’s captain Abi Norgrove at mid-off for 3 to give Trudy Johnson a wicket making it 42 for 4 in the 10^th. 
 
Ritu Singh arrived at No. 6 and teamed with USA U19 Women’s captain Anika Kolan in a 63-run partnership to bring the USA innings back to life. Kolan attacked Olivia Brinsden in the 16^th over, flicking a leg stump half-volley over square leg for six before taking another ten runs for a 16-run frame. The pair followed it up with another 11 runs in the 17^th over, to kickstart a final five-over flourish in which USA added 46 runs. The only hiccup in the stretch came when Singh fell for 20, slicing a drive off Johnson to Perrin at backward point in the 18^th over. But Pooja Ganesh arrived and scored off all eight balls she faced, finishing 10 not out while doing her best to get Kolan back on strike. The USA captain eventually finished unbeaten on 46 off 42 balls having arrived in the sixth over. 
 
Johnson finished with 2 for 17 in four overs while Thanawala returned 2 for 20 in four. Corteen-Coleman claimed 1 for 25 while Brinsden, Phoebe Brett and Grace Thompson all ended wicketless in their combined eight overs. 
 
Medium pacer Maahi Madhavan struck on the second ball of the chase for USA, teaming with Dhingra who took a superb catch low diving forward from extra cover to remove Erin Thomas for a golden duck. However, Perrin and Johnson quickly took momentum back for England as the pair added another 46 by the end of the Powerplay to take the score to 47 for 1. 
 
USA had opportunities to remove both players a short time later, but failed to convert either chance. Perrin offered a life on 36, driving Chudasama’s offspin to Pooja Shah at long-off but a diving effort popped in and out. Johnson survived a much simpler chance on 20 in the 10^th over off Shah’s bowling when a soft drive to Madhavan at extra cover was spilled reaching above her head. Perrin brought up a 34-ball half-century in the same over before unleashing herself further in the 13^th over in which she struck two boundaries as part of a 15-run frame. 
 
Another 19 runs were taken in the 14^th as Perrin offered another half-chance off the bowling of Shah but Dhingra misjudged a skied drive at long-on that went over her head coming in off the rope and landed inches over the boundary for six. Perrin finally fell later in the over with just two needed to win when a lofted drive off Shah was brilliantly taken by Singh charging in from the cover boundary to pull off a diving catch coming forward. England captain Norgrave tapped the winning single two balls into the following over with a punch into the covers. 
 
Madhavan finished with 1 for 11 in two overs while Shah claimed 1 for 26 in two overs. Chudasama ended as USA’s most economical bowler with 0 for 12 in 2.2 overs. Vaghela, Singh, Chetnaa Prasad and Saanvi Immadi all ended wicketless. 
 
USA must now travel 300 kilometers from the Singapore border where they played their Group B matches at Johor Cricket Academy to the southern outskirts of Kuala Lumpire where they will take on New Zealand at YSD-UKM Oval in Bangi.