Rameez edges Pakistan to one-wicket win

Pakistan U-19 164 for 9 (Iqbal 40, Rameez 38*) beat England U-19 160 (Hussain 4-26) by one wicket
Scorecard

Mohammad Rameez, the No. 10, held his nerve to guide Pakistan Under-19s to a tense one-wicket win at Shenley to give them a 1-0 lead in series. When Pakistan collapsed to 99 for 8 chasing 161, England Under-19s appeared to have the game in the bag, but Rameez had other ideas, adding 34 with Asif Iqbal and a match-winning 31 with No. 11 Junaid Khan.

Both teams struggled for runs - Iqbal's 40 was the highest score of the day - and England made early inroads as they defended 161. Steven Finn struck with the new ball and Chris Woakes removed the dangerous Umar Amin for 18.

As in the Test series spin played a key role. Tom Westley produced a miserly spell with his offspin, claiming 2 for 18 off 10 overs, to stifle the middle order. When Alex Wakely grabbed two in his first over, Pakistan were staring down the barrel. However, Iqbal played a measured innings while Rameez took the aggressive route. Rameez hit the only six of the day and the winning runs came with 21 balls to spare.

England failed to bat out their overs after being put in. Billy Godleman struck four boundaries in his 29, put the middle order fell to Kamran Hussain who ended with 4 for 26. Westley produced some defiance with 31 as wickets fell at regular intervals. England put in a valiant effort to defend the total, but in similar circumstances to the second Test, Pakistan squeezed over the line.

The opening game of the five-match series was washed out.