Bowling key as eager Aussies target U19 World Cup semis

Australia U19 captain Oli Peake says there's "no better time" for his band of teen tyros to reach the pointy end of the U19 World Cup as they prepare to lock in a semi-final spot.

Australia are unbeaten in the tournament and a win against West Indies on Wednesday will secure them a spot in the first semi-final next Tuesday, to be played in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo.

There they can expect to meet either India or England, who are clear atop Group 2 in the Super Six stage.

The match against the West Indies will be Australia's first in Zimbabwe after spending the early stages of the tournament in the Namibian capital Windhoek.

"I've loved my time in Namibia – I didn’t really know what to expect but it's been a really cruisy place. Every new experience you get is a cool one, and coming up against different teams as well is awesome experience," captain Peake said this week.

"It feels like there's no better time to start coming up against the strong teams as it feels like we've got plenty of momentum at the moment and hopefully we can continue that on."

Australia cruised through their early rounds by thumping Ireland and Japan by eight wickets each, then made short work of Sri Lanka with a nine-wicket win to top Group A and take crucial points through to the Super Six stage.

There they've triumphed over South Africa by six wickets in their first Super Six match, before shifting to Zimbabwe to face the Windies in Harare (Wednesday 6:30pm AEDT, Prime Video)

While Australia's top-order batters have made short work of the run chases, these are results that have been built on the back of excellent bowling displays, with Australia bowling first in each match so far.

Australia and England are the only teams to have two players in the tournament's top eight tournament for both run-scorers and wicket-taking.

Will Byrom has nine wickets at an average of 6.88 and economy of 2.83 while Brisbane tearaway Charlie Lachmund has eight at 11.12 and an economy of 4.04.

"With every game it feels like we're building in the right direction," adds Peake. "Our bowling's come a really long way from our first practice match.

"The bowlers all complement each other nicely. Charlie swings them back in and Will is the other way.

"Shill (South Australia's Hayden Schiller) and Kasey (Barton, from Wollongong) come through the middle and bowl with good pace and aggression and then we've got the class of Sharms (Victorian left-arm orthodox Ayran Sharma) and Mala (Will Malajczuk, the hard-hitting opening batter who also bowls off-spin) if needed.

"So I feel like we're a really well-balanced attack at the moment and going really strong."

With the bat, No.3 Steve Hogan leads Australia's run-scoring with 201, of which 115 came in the first match against Ireland with an important 43 against the junior Proteas.

Nitesh Samuel has been the anchor for Australia, three not-out innings of 77, 60 and 19 in the first three games before he was finally dismissed for 16 against South Africa to boast a tournament average of 172.

His strike rate is a steady 68.52, making the Paramatta product the perfect foil for fellow opener Malajczuk who boasts the tournament's highest strike-rate of 162.96 of any batter who has faced at least 20 balls.

Sri Lanka's four-wicket win against Afghanistan on Monday night threw Group 1 wide open, creating a three-way tie between those two teams and West Indies for the second semi-final spot alongside Peake's Aussies.

The tournament's scheduling means Australia will not face Afghanistan unless they meet in the final. The Afghans are favoured to book that semi-final berth with their final match against Ireland, while Sri Lanka will play the Proteas.

In Group 2, England are unbeaten and will face New Zealand in their final Super Six match on Friday night, while India play Zimbabwe tonight before an eye-catching clash with Pakistan's U19s on Sunday.

Australia's U19 World Cup fixtures

Jan 16: Australia beat Ireland by 8 wickets

Jan 20: Australia beat Japan by 8 wickets

Jan 23: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 9 wickets

Super Sixes, Jan 25: Australia beat South Africa by 6 wickets

Super Sixes, Jan 28: Australia v West Indies, Harare Sports Club, Harare

Feb 3: First semi-final, Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo

Feb 4: Second semi-final, Harare Sports Club, Harare

Feb 6: Final, Harare Sports Club, Harare

Australia squad: Oliver Peake (c, VIC), Kasey Barton (NSW), William Byrom (NSW), Naden Cooray (NSW), Jayden Draper (QLD), Steven Hogan (QLD), Thomas Hogan (ACT), Ben Gordon (QLD), John James (NSW), Charles Lachmund (QLD), Alex Lee-Young (NSW), Will Malajczuk (WA), Nitesh Samuel (NSW), Hayden Schiller (SA), Aryan Sharma (VIC)

All matches start 6:30pm AEDT, and broadcast exclusively live on Prime Video