England Under 19 take control

England Under 19 386 for 7 (James 78, Ali 74, Smith 60*, Denly 57, Pathirana 5-113) v Sri Lanka Under 19
Scorecard

England Under 19 worked themselves into a promising position at the end of the opening day of the first Test thanks to the efforts of their middle order. Half-centuries from Moeen Ali, Nicholas James and Tom Smith gave England the edge after they had stuttered to 180 for 5.

After choosing to bat on the run-filled Shenley pitch Varun Chopra and Joe Denly launched this innings with a stand of 51. But Chopra and Steven Davies fell in quick succession to the impressive Sachith Pathirana, a left-arm spinner from Kandy. Pathirana also accounted for Denly after a workmanlike 57 when he was caught behind (133 for 4).

Ali, though, countered the fall of wickets with an aggressive approach and stroked eight fours in his 85-ball 74, while James took a more sedate route to his 78, using 135 deliveries. When Pathirana claimed his fifth wicket by bowling Ali, Smith, the Lancashire allrounder, took on the responsibility of building the total.

Smith worked the ball around, hitting only two boundaries in 123 balls, and he will be aiming to extend his knock towards three figures in the morning so that England can post a total well over 400. However, if Sri Lanka can remove the tail quickly they will also have the opportunity to bat while the pitch is still full of runs.