Defending champions off to a losing start
England and India got their Under-19 World Cup campaigns off to winning starts in the first round of warm-up matches before the competition proper gets underway on Sunday
Cricinfo staff
11-Feb-2008
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Pakistan, who won the two most recent World Cups, lost to England by four wickets. They struggled to 217 for 6 in their 50 overs but seemed on course for victory as England slid to 166 for 6, only for Ben Brown (25*) and Liam Dawson (25*) put on a match-winning 52 for the seventh wicket. Umar Amin was Pakistan's top scorer with 67 off 129 balls and included four fours, while Umar Mir (34*), Shan Masood (28) and Usman Salahuddin (22) all chipped in. For England, 6ft 8in fast bowler Steven Finn quickly established himself as a player to watch with 2 for 23 while Dan Redfern bagged 2 for 22. Billy Godleman (61) and James Taylor (52) made sure that England got off to a winning start when they featured in a 110-run opening stand, but England then lost six wickets for 56 before their late rally.
India were given a real run for their money by New Zealand despite posting a formidable 281 for 9. Shreevats Goswami hit a flawless 91 from 101 balls with seven fours and two sixes, while Ravindra Jadeja slamming a quick-fire 71 with five fours and two sixes. Nicholas Beard and Tim Soothee, who made his international debut in a Twenty20 match against England last week, shared six wickets between them. New Zealand slipped to 57 for 3 but George Worker (69) and Corey Anderson featured in a 115-run fourth wicket partnership while Fraser Colson and Anurag Verma added 66 runs for the ninth wicket as they finished six runs short. Fast bowler Pradeep Sanghwan bowled with a lot of fire and venom to return figures of 4 for 52 while Einstein Napolean bowled intelligently for his 2 for 41.
In other matches, Bangladesh thrashed hosts Malaysia by 165 runs. Mohammad Mithun led the line as Bangladesh scored 270 for 8, and then there were three wickets each for Rubel Hossain and Suhrawadi Shuvo as Malaysia limped to 105. An upset looked on the cards after Ireland slumped to 126 for 6 chasing Papua New Guinea's 180 but they were rescued by James Hall who finished with an undefeated 70.
