Albert impresses as England U19 win opening warm-up
Media release
A classy all-round performance from Ralphie Albert guided England to a five-wicket victory over New Zealand in the opening warm-up match ahead of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026.
The 18-year-old helped bowl out New Zealand for 264, returning figures of three for 45, before finishing off England’s chase with a match-winning unbeaten 52.
Alex Green (3/37) was the pick of England’s bowlers while their chase was aided by half-centuries from Ben Dawkins, Joseph Moores and Caleb Falconer.
After being put into bat, New Zealand’s opening duo Aryan Mann and Hugo Bogue added 64 inside 10 overs before Bogue, who took 14 runs from the first four balls off Green’s second over, had his stumps rearranged by the same bowler.
Mann was the next man to go for a watchful 27 to leave New Zealand 89 for two.
Skipper Tom Jones and Snehith Reddy then combined to add 74 for the third wicket before Green had Reddy caught for 35.
Albert removed Jones LBW for 50 and New Zealand fell to 168 for six in the 31st over as Jacob Cotter and Marco William Alpe fell cheaply.
Brandon Matzopoulos (29) and Callum Samson (36*) took New Zealand’s score past 200 after Jaskaran Sandhu became Albert’s third scalp.
Harry Burns’ cameo of 14 from eight balls helped give New Zealand some late-order runs before his and Selwin Sanjay’s dismissals brought their innings to a close on 264.
Dawkins and Moores built the foundations of England’s chase, the former reaching his half-century in the 12th over before falling for 53.
Ben Mayes followed suit, again to Sandhu, with England on 105 but Moores and Falconer continued to chip away at their target, adding 63 before the former was run out for a well-made 58.
Falconer’s 61 featured four fours and three sixes before he was bowled by Sanjay and at 193 for four, England still required another 72 runs from 17 overs.
A crucial partnership between Albert and Farhan Ahmed (19) swung the balance of the game, with Albert bringing his half-century up in the process of hitting the winning runs.
Five warm-up games take place on Saturday, all at 9.30am local time.
Scores in brief
New Zealand U19 v England U19 - Prince Edward School, Harare, Zimbabwe
New Zealand U19 264 all out from 47.2 overs (Tom Jones 50, Callum Samson 36*; Alex Green 3/37, Ralphie Albert 3/45)
England U19 266/5 from 46.0 overs (Caleb Falconer 61, Joseph Moores 58; Jaskaran Sandhu 2/34, Selwin Sanjay 1/54)
Result: England U19 won by five wickets.