South Africa U19 clinched a dramatic one-wicket win in the third Youth ODI against the West Indies on Thursday.

Dewald Brevis’ impressive return of 3-6 with the ball and Liam Alder’s exploits with both bat and ball were the highlights for the visitors, who take a 2-1 lead in the four-match series.

Hosted in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines islands, the series is part of the Junior Proteas’ build-up to the U19 World Cup in the West Indies from 14 January to 5 February.

After losing the toss, SA U19 were asked to bowl first at the Cumberland Playing Field, where challenging batting conditions led to a low-scoring thriller.

The hosts made a solid start, featuring contributions from Shaqkere Parris (27) and Teddy Bishop (26). But SA U19 all-rounder Hardus Coetzer (3-25) then struck three crucial blows to leave the West Indies struggling on 51-4 after 13 overs.

Although Bishop and Giovante Depeiza (22) added 46 runs for the fifth wicket, Alder (2-23) and Asakhe Tsaka (2-23) picked up important middle-order scalps before Brevis took centre stage.

The leg-spinner bamboozled the West Indies tail, claiming three wickets to restrict the hosts to 106 all out in 38.3 overs.

The SA U19 batsmen went about their business in quick fashion and despite losing Jade Smith for a duck, Ethan Cunningham (25) and Valentine Kitime (13) helped them reach 50-3 in the eighth over.

Despite a West Indies’ fightback, spearheaded by Onaje Amory (4-8), SA U19 withstood the pressure and through Alder’s explosive 24* off 12 balls, got over the line with more than 31 overs to spare.

The fourth and final encounter takes place at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex in St Vincent on Monday.