England ease past New Zealand in first U19 WC warm-up clash

The first warm-up match ahead of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup got underway today with England taking on New Zealand. England cruised past New Zealand with an all-round performance which will give them strong momentum heading into the main tournament starting on January 15.

New Zealand made a steady start, after England won the toss and put them in. Openers Aryan Mann and Hugo Bogue negotiated the early spell well before the stand was broken at the end of the powerplay when Alex Green rattled Bogue’s stumps and Manny Lumsden removed Mann shortly after to leave New Zealand at 89/2.

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Captain Tom Jones then combined with Snehith Reddy to steady the innings, forging New Zealand’s highest partnership of the match. The pair added 74 runs, with Jones bringing up a well-compiled half-century and Reddy contributing a brisk 35 off 37 balls.

However, momentum shifted dramatically when both batters were dismissed in consecutive overs without a run being added, triggering a collapse that saw New Zealand slip to 163/4 and then lose three more wickets for just 25 runs.

Lower-order resistance from Brandan Matzopoulos and Callum Samson revived the Blackcaps innings, as the duo stitched together a crucial 42-run stand before Matzopoulos was bowled by Alex French for 29. Samson later added another valuable 33-run partnership with Harry Burns, helping New Zealand recover to a competitive total of 264.

For England, Ralphie Albert was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/45 in his 10 overs, while Alex Green’s impactful spell of 3/37 from six overs proved vital in breaking key partnerships. Alex French, Manny Lumsden, Luke Hands and Sebastian Morgan chipped in with a wicket apiece.

England made a strong start to the chase as the opening pair of Ben Dawkins and Joe Moores put on 87 runs for the first wicket, laying a solid foundation. Dawkins led the charge with an aggressive innings, bringing up a fluent half-century before Jaskiran Sandhu struck to bowl him for 53.

Sandhu followed it up with another quick breakthrough, removing wicketkeeper-batter Ben Mayes. Caleb Falconer then joined Moores in the middle, as the duo stitched together a 63-run partnership to firmly put England in control of the chase.

Moores played a composed knock, scoring 58 off 74 balls before being run out, while Falconer continued to anchor the innings and reached a well-crafted half-century. His innings of 61 from 57 deliveries came to an end when Selwin Sanjay bowled him, but by then England were well placed in their pursuit.

Following up his strong bowling performance, Albert then played a decisive hand with the bat, smashing a quickfire 52 off 43 deliveries to guide England home. He was well supported by skipper Farhan Ahmed, who chipped in with a handy 19, while Sebastian Morgan remained unbeaten on 8 as England comfortably completed the chase. Jaskaran Sandhu was the standout bowler for New Zealand, finishing with impressive figures of 2/34, while Selwin Sanjay picked up the other wicket to fall in the innings.

England will take on India while New Zealand play Zimbabwe in their next warm-up matches on January 12.