Charles Lachmund is riding a wave at the ICC Under-19 Men’s World Cup as Australia sit a couple of steps away from defending their title with a place in the semi-finals secured.
On the eve of their opening game, the 18-year-old fast-bowler had said he wanted to relish every moment of the tournament as it might be his only chance to represent his country.
He has indeed played every game in the competition as if it is his last and has left an impression so mighty it is certain to open the doors of many more opportunities once he returns from Africa.
With 12 wickets in four games, Lachmund is currently the equal second leading wicket taker in the tournament and has been a vital cog for the dominant Australian team that claimed the first semi-finals spot with a win over the West Indies on Wednesday.
The modest attitude going into the age-group World Cup withstood the reputation he was carrying within the team, with captain Ollie Peake declaring him the leader of the attack and backing him to unleash his speed.
The youngster is now pleased to be delivering on those expectations and contributing to the side’s success.
“It’s good to play a role that’s going a long way for helping the team win,” he said. “It’s not just about the expectations, it’s good to be a key player within the mix that’s getting those wins.”
Through the initial phase of the competition, Lachmund went on the prowl, spearheading an Australian attack that stamped its authority over opposition lineups.
The batting unit also produced some stellar performances as Australia rolled on undefeated and unchallenged with comfortable wins over Ireland, Japan, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
But the side hit a speed breaker when it relocated from Windhoek to face the West Indies in the final game of the Super Sixes stage in Harare.
After a century from Peake helped them set a formidable total of 314, the bowling attack was met with an assault it was unfamiliar with.
Lachmund gave away 27 runs in his opening spell of three overs as Zachary Carter used his pace to take him for boundaries.
Carter and fellow opener Tanez Francis raced to 84 runs in the powerplay before Peake decided to throw the ball back to the Queensland quick in the 12th over, who delivered a breakthrough immediately, trapping Francis in front of his stumps.
Lachmund admits he was taken aback by the attacking approach the West Indies opener welcomed him with.
“It did get quite tense,” he reflected on the opening overs. “We hadn’t really come across any of that sort of pressure earlier in the tournament.”
“We just weren’t really executing very well at the top.
“We hadn’t really been used to boys getting after our attack up the top.”
His wicket set the tone for Australia’s fightback as the bowlers tightened the screws to put the pressure back on the opposition.
Lachmund returned to break budding partnerships twice more and finished with figures of 4-66 from nine overs as Australia won by 22 runs.
The youngster was all praise for his captain’s handling of the situation and his advice that helped the bowlers find their mojo back.
“Ollie did a very job,” he said.
“He just said, ‘Keep your plans very simple. Just attack the stumps.’
“He didn’t really see the need to resort to too much unorthodox cricket or anything.
“Once we started to compose ourselves and slow ourselves down, it made things a lot smoother in getting to the victory.”
The momentary turbulence could not have come at a better time for the side as it prepares for the knockouts.
A successful fight out of a tricky situation will give the unit a boost of confidence going into the semi-finals, where they are likely to come up against India or England, who have both also enjoyed unbeaten runs in the competition so far.
On reflection, Lachmund is looking at his tough spell against the West Indies with the same positive lens.
“I was quite frustrated at the top,” he said. “But then you understand that this needs to happen in order for us to prepare.”
“(We need to) just try and embrace the contest because that’s obviously what we’re going to get against the top teams.
“They’re not really going to sit on you at all. They’re going to go after you and challenge your skills.”
The six-day gap between their last Super Sixes game and their semi-final on Tuesday will be well utilised by Australia to lock in their best team combinations after the side’s mindful rotation of its players throughout the competition.
The workload of the fast bowlers has been carefully managed and Lachmund believes the experience of having bowled in tandem will help the group of opening bowlers – that has featured Will Byrom and Ben Gordon alongside him – no matter which two are given the nod in the knockouts.
Byrom, who was a late addition to the squad, has also enjoyed a successful campaign, netting nine wickets in three games with a five-for against Sri Lanka being the highlight.
“It’s been good working with Ben and Will,” Lachmund was all praise for his bowling partners.
“They’re little bit different in the way that they bowl. But it’s good to kind of just work with different partnerships.
“A lot of wickets between Will and I, which is nice.”
The fast-bowling group has also quickly realised that the conditions in Zimbabwe, where the knockouts will be played, will not assist them as much as they did in the Namibian capital.
Lachmund likened the Windhoek wickets to those commonly found in Australia as he talked through their differences with the one they were presented against the West Indies.
“It was fast bowler-friendly, quite bouncy,” he said.
“If you bowl balls in the right area, it’ll carry through, shoot through to the keeper with a bit of pace, bit of bounce.
“(In Harare) it was vastly different. It’s very crumbly and the spinners proved very effective.”
“It’s good to sort of get that difference and understand what’s going to be ahead.”
As the toppers of their Super Sixes group, Australia will face the second-placed side of the other group in the first semi-final, which will be played in Bulawayo. The winner will progress to next Friday’s final in Harare.
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
