Ben Mayes struck a record-breaking 191 as England maintained their perfect start to the 2026 ICC Men’s U19s World Cup with a 252-run win over Scotland in Harare.
Hampshire batter Mayes hit the fastest-ever century by a Young Lion, from 65 balls, before breaking the record for the highest individual England Men U19s ODI score in his team’s 404 for six.
England’s bowlers then shared the wickets, with Caleb Falconer’s three for 19 the pick of the figures, to bowl Scotland out for 152 in 44.5 overs.
Mayes shared a 188-run partnership for the second wicket with Joe Moores, who hit 81 from 65 balls, to set the stage for his record-breaking afternoon.
The 18-year-old reached his century in the 23rd over, and in doing so surpassed his captain Thomas Rew’s previous quickest mark of 75 balls set against India last summer.
The records continued to fall as Mayes went past the previous record individual England Youth ODI score of 174, jointly held by Dan Lawrence and Freddie McCann, before he eventually fell caught behind attempting to reverse sweep Max Chaplin.
Mayes’ innings included 18 fours and eight sixes, from 117 balls, and fell just one run short of the tournament’s record individual score, which Sri Lanka’s Viran Chamuditha set against Japan four days ago.
“As positive as I am I didn’t expect that when I woke up this morning”, Mayes said at the post-match presentation.
“Joe Moores batted brilliantly up top and a few others chipped in – it was an all-round team performance. I tried to train as hard as I could before the tournament. There are no excuses really because this is the biggest tournament I’ve played in.
“A lot of the older lads at Hampshire have been influential in my development as a cricketer, which has really helped me.”
The win confirmed that England will take four points through to the Super Six stage.
The Young Lions will play two matches in the next phase of the competition, with their next match-up against the country that finishes second in Group B in Bulawayo, on Monday.
The top two teams in each group at the end of the Super Six stage progress to the semi-finals.