South Africa Under-19 secured an impressive victory over England Under-19 in the first Youth Test at Beckenham, played from 10–13 July 2026.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Junior Proteas posted 295 in their first innings, led by Muhammad Bulbulia’s excellent 98, with valuable contributions from Jason Rowles (66) and Vihan Pretorius (51).
England were bowled out for 220, despite determined half-centuries from James Minto and Rocky Flintoff. South Africa’s bowlers kept the pressure on throughout the innings, with Bayanda Majola claiming four wickets to give the visitors a crucial 75-run first-innings lead.
The Junior Proteas strengthened their position in the second innings, scoring 310 thanks to half-centuries from Joshua van Biljon (58) and Jason Rowles (52). This left England needing a challenging 386 runs for victory in their second innings.
England showed resilience in pursuit of the target but were unable to overcome South Africa’s disciplined bowling attack. The final day belonged to Jacob Basson, who produced a sensational spell of fast bowling to finish with 7/73 in England’s second innings, helping bowl South Africa to victory.
Basson’s performance was one for the record books. His figures of 7/73 are now the best innings bowling figures by a South African in Youth Test history, eclipsing Makhaya Ntini’s previous record of 6/53. He also finished the match with outstanding figures of 10/123, becoming only the second South African to claim a ten-wicket match haul in a Youth Test, following Renier Munnik’s 10/99.
The victory was built on contributions from across the team, with strong batting performances, disciplined bowling, and excellent teamwork throughout the four days. However, Jacob Basson’s record-breaking final-day spell will be remembered as the defining moment of the match, capping off a memorable win for the Junior Proteas and cementing his place in South African Under-19 cricket history.
