KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21: Trent Boult grabbed 7-20 as New Zealand crushed hosts Malaysia by eight wickets in two hours to advance to the quarter-finals of the ICC Cricket Under-19 World Cup on Thursday.

Fellow seamer Tim Southee picked up the other three wickets as Malaysia were shot out for 47, a target New Zealand surpassed easily in the 12th over well before lunch.

Boult, a left-arm seamer who regards Pakistani legend Wasim Akram as his hero and dreams of becoming a chef, cooked up the second best figures in the history of the tournament.

The 18-year-old fell just one run short of Ben Mendis’ 7-19 for Sri Lanka against Zimbabwe at Christchurch in 2002.

Malaysia did not match their winning display against Zimbabwe on Wednesday as five of the top seven batsmen failed to score and no one reached double figures.

The emphatic win ensured New Zealand joined defending champions Pakistan in the quarter-finals from Group ‘A’ at the expense of Malaysia and Zimbabwe.

South Africa stayed on course for the next round from Group ‘B’ with a seven-wicket win over Papua New Guinea at the Kinrara Oval in the Malaysian capital.

Captain Wayne Parnell took 3-19 and Jonathan Vandiar claimed 4-27 as South Africa bowled out the minnows for 125 and then cruised home in the 16th over with opener Pieter Malan making 56.

South Africa ended the league with two wins from three matches, but only an Indian victory over the West Indies on Friday will confirm their place in the quarter-finals.

If the West Indies win, there will be a three-way tie and the two teams with the best net run-rates will advance to the next round.

In Group ‘C’, Nepal snatched a thrilling three-run win over Namibia in Penang despite a gutsy all-round performance by Louis van der Westhuizen who claimed 2-17 and hit 65 for the African side.

Nepal, bowled out for 164, fought back to nail Namibia for 161 in 49 overs with captain Paras Khadka, Rahul Vishwakarma and Gyanendra Malla taking two wickets each.

Both Nepal and Namibia are out of the reckoning for the quarter-finals.

In another match that had no bearing on the next round, Bermuda defeated Ireland by 20 runs in Group ‘D’.

In the last round of league matches on Friday, Pakistan take on Zimbabwe in Group ‘A’, Australia meet Sri Lanka to decide Group ‘C’ champions and England clash with Bangladesh for the first place in Group ‘D’.

Summarised scores:

Group A

New Zealand beat Malaysia by eight wickets in Johor

MALAYSIA 47 in 17.1 overs (Trent Boult 7-20, Tim Southee 3-19); NEW ZEALAND 48-2 in 11.1 overs (Kane Willimson 27 not out).

Group B

South Africa beat Papua New Guinea by seven wickets in Kuala Lumpur

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 125 in 45 overs (Tanti Heni 35; Jonathan Vandiar 4-27, Wayne Parnell 3-19, Matthew Arnold 3-27); SOUTH AFRICA 128-3 in 15.1 overs (Pieter Malan 56, Johan Smuts 36).

Group C

Nepal beat Namibia by three runs in Penang

NEPAL 164 in 49.5 overs (Mahesh Chhetri 62, Rom Shrestha 26, Louis van der Westhuizen 2-17, Morne Engelbrecht 2-28); NAMIBIA 161 in 49 overs (Louis van der Westhuizen 65; Rahul Vishwakarma 2-23, Gyanendra Malla 2-3, Paras Khadka 2-30).

Group D

Bermuda beat Ireland by 20 runs in Kuala Lumpur

BERMUDA 221-9 in 50 overs (Rodney Trott 64, Malachi Jones 58; James Hall 3-44); IRELAND 201 in 48.4 overs (Christopher Dougherty 70; Chris Douglas 5-40)

Friday’s fixtures:

Group A: Pakistan v Zimbabwe.

Group B: India v West Indies.

Group C: Australia v Sri Lanka.

Group D: England v Bangladesh.—AFP