Electing to bat in a match reduced to 42 overs per side at Hagley Oval, West Indies U19s posted 187 for nine off their quota and Ireland U19s suffered a dramatic late collapse to be bowled out for 183 in 41.3 overs.
Perfectly poised for victory at 179 for five in the 39th over, the young Irish side incredibly lost their last five wickets for the addition of just four runs, tormented by two run-outs and Warrican’s decisive three-wicket blitz.
Ireland’s U19s had recovered from an unsteady start when pacers Nicholson Gordon and Keon Joseph removed their two openers within the first two overs.
James Shannon (83) and Ben Ackland (32) rallied Ireland with an 87-run fourth-wicket stand and they were cruising — with a mere nine runs to win from 19 balls – when the resilient young Caribbean side pulled off the astonishing result in their last warm-up match before Friday’s start of the ICC Under-19 World Cup.
Ireland’s plunge to defeat started when Stuart Poynter (17) was run-out by Evin Lewis off the last ball of the 39th over at 179 for six.
The 17-year-old Warrican then struck two vital blows in the next over.
He removed Shane Getkate and George Dockrell – both leg before wicket — without scoring and in his next over celebrated the pivotal wicket of top-scorer Shannon, bowled 17 short of a hundred as Ireland dipped to a perilous 182 for nine.
The young Windies snatched victory when Craig Young (1) was run-out by Jermaine Blackwood with three balls remaining.
Warrican finished with figures of three for 33 off 8.3 overs and Gordon picked up two for 24 off six overs.
Yannic Cariah, with one for 13 off four overs, Joseph (1-40) and Jason Holder (1-38) also claimed wickets.
Earlier, West Indies had lost top opener Kraigg Brathwaite without scoring in the fourth over but Lewis and Trevon Griffith steadied the innings with a 58-run second-wicket stand.
Griffith hit 34 off 52 balls with four boundaries and Lewis followed up his 41 in their loss to Australia on Monday with a slow but useful knock, getting 32 with two boundaries.
Wicket-keeper/batsman Shane Dowrich top-scored with 37 off 42 balls and Blackwood smashed an attacking 32 off 22 balls with two fours and two sixes.
Blackwood and Dowrich added an important 49 for the seventh wicket.
Holder led the Windies U19s as regular captain Andre Creary rested ahead of Friday’s opening Group D match against Pakistan.
Two of the Caribbean side’s first-round opponents – Pakistan and Papua New Guinea – suffered losses and Bangladesh, their third opponents in the group phase, recorded an upset win over Australia.
Bangladesh defeated the defending champions by 20 runs at Elmwood Park.
Captain Mahmudul Hasan (75), Saikat Ali (61) and Anamul Haque (58) boosted their innings to 230 for seven and leg-spinner Shabbir Rahman (4-34) contained the Aussies’ run chase.
Pakistan lost by 10 runs to South Africa and the USA easily defeated Papua New Guinea by 116 runs.
After facing Pakistan on Friday, West Indies U19s will face Bangladesh on Sunday and Papua New Guinea next Tuesday.
The two top teams from each of the four groups will move on to the Championship quarter-final phase and the bottom two will play in the Plate event.
West Indies, runners-up to Pakistan in 2004, were Plate winners at the last tournament in 2008.
SCOREBOARD
WEST INDIES U19s Innings
T Griffith st wkp Poynter b Stirling 34
K Brathwaite lbw b Getkate 0
E Lewis c Dockrell b Stirling 32
Y Cariah run out (Balbirnie) 0
J Campbell lbw b Nelson 17
+S Dowrich st wkp Poynter b Balbirnie 37
*J Holder lbw b Dockrell 1
J Blackwood b Dockrell 32
K Joseph not out 12
J Warrican c Richardson b Stirling 3
N Gordon not out 1
Extras (b8, lb2, w8) 18
TOTAL (9 wickets – 42 overs) 187
Did not bat: A Dewar, Y Ottley, N Bolan, A Creary
Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Brathwaite, 3.4 overs), 2-67 (Griffith, 19.2), 3-67 (Cariah, 19.6), 4-77 (Lewis, 23.1), 5-106 (Campbell, 29.3), 6-112 (Holder, 30.4), 7-161 (Blackwood, 36.4), 8-178 (Dowrich, 40.1), 9-183 (Warrican, 41.3)
Bowling: Young 6-1-24-0 (3w); Getkate 5-0-14-1 (1w); Richardson 3-0-20-0; Balbirnie 9-0-25-1; Stirling 9-0-29-3 (1w); Nelson 6-0-44-1; Dockrell 4-0-21-2 (2w).
IRELAND U19s Innings
*A Balbirnie c Blackwood b Gordon 4
L Nelson lbw b Joseph 8
P Stirling c Warrican b Gordon 17
J Shannon b Warrican 83
B Ackland lbw b Cariah 32
G McDonnell b Holder 12
+S Poynter run out (Lewis) 17
S Getkate lbw b Warrican 0
G Dockrell lbw b Warrican 0
E Richardson not out 1
C Young run out (Blackwood) 1
Extras (b1, lb3, w4) 8
TOTAL (all out – 41.3 overs) 183
Did not bat: A D’Arcy, J Coghlan, S Thompson, G McCarter
Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Nelson, 0.5 overs), 2-14 (Balbirnie, 1.3), 3-33 (Stirling, 5.6), 4-120 (Ackland, 27.5), 5-146 (McDonnell, 34.6), 6-179 (Poynter, 38.6), 7-179 (Getkate, 39.1), 8-179 (Dockrell, 39.4), 9-182 (Shannon, 41.1), 10-183 (Young, 41.3)
Bowling: Joseph 7-0-40-1 (1w); Gordon 6-1-24-2 (2w); Holder 7-1-38-1; Warrican 8.3-2-33-3 (1w); Blackwood 9-1-31-0; Cariah 4-0-13-1.
Result: West Indies U19s win by four runs
Toss: West Indies U19s
Umpires: N Shah (Bangladesh), S Tarapore (India)
