HOVE (Bangladesh won toss): England Under-19s beat Bangladesh Under-19s by eight wickets
HAVING won the Test series 2-0, England Under-19s took a 1-0 lead in the three-match one-day series and cannot now lose it, the first international having been washed out on Tuesday. The teenaged Bangladeshis are more competitive than their senior team, having beaten Australia in the Under-19 World Cup last winter. Such a convincing victory was, therefore, a satisfying one for England, who bowled and fielded well.
Gratifyingly, two promising spinners played a key role in Bangladesh’s dismissal for a paltry 189 on a Hove pitch that turned quite generously. Samit Patel is a strokeplaying batsman first and foremost, but his rhythmical left-arm spin is a handy asset for a captain, as Alastair Cook found yesterday. His figures of two for 31 from ten overs were well deserved, but even more economical was Mark Lawson, the leg-spinner from Yorkshire. He struggled two winters ago as a 16-year old on the under-19 tour to Australia, but has developed much better control since.
Although they lost two wickets in three balls to Simon Cusden in the tenth over, Bangladesh made a decent start before the innings turned with the fall of the third wicket. A schoolboy error from Nafees Iqbal proved very costly when he was run out by Cook’s direct hit after failing to ground his bat. Lawson and Patel then exerted a stranglehold on Bangladesh. Shamsur Rahman, a 16-year-old opening batsman, at least underlined his promise by making 75 from 122 balls.
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Cook was out in the second over when he slapped a long hop to gully, but Joe Denly and Ravi Bopara put the issue beyond doubt with a second-wicket stand of 95 in 25 overs. Denly, from Kent, showed a clear on-side propensity while compiling a solid 111-ball fifty while Bopara, driving handsomely through extra cover, made a cultured 40 before being stumped.
The untidy Bangladeshi attack, which bowled 19 wides, were powerless to contain James Hildreth. Seizing on anything pitched short, he pulled savagely, finishing the match with a six into the pavilion. His unbeaten 53 came off just 42 balls and included ten boundaries, enabling England to win with 62 balls to spare.