Harare [Zimbabwe], January 29 (ANI): The defending champions Australia became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2026 after defeating West Indies by 22 runs in match 7 of the Super Six played at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday.

Australia U19 captain Oliver Peake (109 off 117 balls) scored his maiden century in U19 World Cup which helped his side set a big target of 315 runs for the Windies. The opening pair Will Malajczuk and Nitesh Samuel saw the Aussies off to a frantic and aggressive start.

Reacting on his century after the match, Peake told ICC website, 'It means everything (to score the maiden ton). You don't know how many hundreds you're going to make for Australia, so I'll definitely savour this moment. It's a great feeling and to make a hundred in a winning game as well, makes it even more special.'

Speaking about the opener batters (Malajczuk and Samuel), he said, 'They set it up really well. For us to be a hundred off about 13 overs was the ideal start and looking back I suppose it was lucky that we did, because it did definitely get a little bit more tricky as the game went on and it was quite tough to strike the ball towards the back end. So for (Malajczuk) to get us off to such a good flier and Nitesh to be complimenting him up the other end and going at a good rate himself is awesome and has been the foundation for our batting lineup and hopefully we can keep that going into the finals'.

Peake's side in unbeaten in the competition and is looking to clinch the trophy again after winning it the last time in 2024 where Peake played an unbeaten knock of 46 runs off 43 balls against India in the final which helped Australia U19 won the match by 79 runs.

'Absolutely stoked with the win. To go into the semi-finals undefeated is a great feeling and I think the boys will take plenty of confidence out of it,' said Peake after securing a place in the final stage of the tournament.

West Indies fought well and reached 292/9 in 50 overs with opener batter Zachary Carter (64 off 42 balls) and skipper Joshua Dorne (62 off 97 balls) hitting crucial half-centuries. But those were not enough for the Windies U19 as they fall short of 22 runs.

'It was probably great for us to get tested early on and (the West Indies) definitely came out swinging,' Peake continued. 'But I was really impressed with how the guys came back, in their second and third spells and probabaly a special mention to Naden Cooray who got that big wicket (removing Carter). He bowled superbly all day, keeping the stumps in play.'

Charles Lachmund took four wickets after a rough start and finished with the figures of 4/66, while Hayden Schiller and Aryan Sharma grabbed two wickets each.

'I thought (Schiller) was awesome,' Peake continued. 'A lot of the time I think he goes unrewarded and for him to get two wickets today, and get a few maidens, dry up one end. He's so reliable and that's why we love having him there. And (Lachmund) has got great ball speed and when he gets it right, he's really tough to play and for him to come back after his first spell, with a clear mind, fully focused, it was really impressive,' Peake said.

As Australia move to the final stage of the tournament, the skipper advised his players to enjoy the process.

'Just keep enjoying it, you don't want to get too caught up on results,' he concluded. (ANI)