U19 Tigers hunt down England

Bangladesh U19 cricket team won their second warm-up game of the ICC Under-19 World Cup when they overwhelmed England by 97 runs at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong today.

The U19 Tigers won the toss and decided to bat first. They were in trouble early as the English bowlers stifled the scoring opportunities with accurate spells from both ends. Wickets fell in regular intervals from the sixth over, and at one stage the hosts were reeling at 91 for five after 24 overs.

The lower order came to the rescue in the form of Shafiul Hayet, Jaker Ali, Mohammad Saifuddin and Saeed Sarkar. The last five wickets produced 163 runs with the bat and gave the visitors a challenging total to chase at Chittagong.

Shafiul’s 68 from 89 was the highest score in Bangladesh’s 246 for eight in 50 overs. He struck six fours and a six in his timely knock. Saifuddin was unbeaten at the end with 46 from 35 balls.

For England, Saqib Mahmood, Brad Taylor and Dan Lawrence picked up two wickets each.

Chasing 247, England got off to the worst possible start as they lost Lawrence in the first over bowled by Saifuddin. Max Holden and George Bartlett both were dismissed in the second over with Bangladeshi bowlers operating with their tails up. By the eighth over, England were in deep trouble at 15 for four, and they played catch-up throughout the rest of the match.

After a crucial fifth-wicket stand of 56, England lost wickets in regular intervals, and were completely derailed from the chase after they lost their seventh wicket in the 22nd over with only 76 runs on the board.

Brad Taylor reduced the margin of defeat with his 41 from 52 late in the innings. Callum Taylor was the second highest scorer for his team with 36 runs.

Bangladesh never looked back after they had England down on the mat, and the 52-run eighth wicket partnership kept the local bowlers at bay for a while. For Bangladesh, Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Mehedi Hasan Rana grabbed three wickets in their miserly spells, while Saifuddin took two.