Neil Edwards just misses out on a century in Sydney

Somerset's Neil Edwards came tantalizingly close to scoring a century on Australian turf for the second time during the England Under 19's tour down under.

In the first Youth Test at Adelaide the young Cornishman's 97 helped his side to a memorable victory over their Australian counterparts whereas despite his fine effort on Saturday he ended up on the losing side in Sydney.

Batting first the Australians scored 260 for 8 from their allotted 50 overs, and opening the batting Edwards had helped to put his side into a good position before he was dismissed just eight runs short of what would have been a thoroughly deserved century.

Middle order wickets fell quickly, and in the end the England Under 19's were restricted to 244 for 8 to give their hosts victory by 16 runs.

This victory means that the young Australians, who have already won the Youth Test series, now have an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five match series of One Day Internationals.

The final two matches of the series are due to be played on Monday and Tuesday of the coming week