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West Indies batsman Brenton Parchment will lead a Jamaica Select XI in a three-day match against Australia at Trelawny next week. Xavier Marshall and Carlton Baugh are the only other players in the 13-member squad to have Test match experience.Left-arm spinner Nikita Miller, who took 32 wickets at an impressive 15.71 in the Carib Beer series, was also included but there was no place for Jamaica’s prolific batsman Brendan Nash. Several players in the squad such as Donovan Sinclair and Shacaya Thomas have no prior first-class experience.The match which gets underway on May 16 is Australia’s only practice game before the Test matches.Squad:
Brenton Parchment (capt), Xavier Marshall, Simon Jackson, Shawn Findlay, Lorenzo Ingram, Carlton Baugh Jr (wk), Donovan Sinclair, Shacaya Thomas, Nikita Miller, André Dwyer, Gavin Wallace, André Russell and Neive McNally.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

It was as if the series result was decided even before Bangladesh agreed to tour the country. Pakistan took their second consecutive 5-0 series sweep at home – their first was against Zimbabwe – with a comprehensive 150-run victory in the fifth and final one-dayer at the National Stadium and extended their winning streak to a record 11. The win was set up by a career-best 136 off 124 balls by Salman Butt, and his stand of 179 for the second wicket with Younis Khan propelled Pakistan to a massive 329 which proved way beyond reach for Bangladesh who effectively lost the game after Mohammad Asif inflicted a top-order wobble.Shoaib Malik had no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss, a move prompted by the fact that there was little chance of dew troubling the bowlers later in the evening. It was a good toss to win, as the batsmen were rarely challenged under the blazing afternoon sun.The pitch had a sprinkling of grass, though it only helped to bind the cracks together. The opening bowlers, Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain, bent their backs early, hoping to get some pace and nip, but the pitch wasn’t very cooperative. That was to be the trend through Pakistan’s innings after Kamran Akmal’s early departure, when Butt and Younis took control and milked the bowling authoritatively.The feature of Butt’s innings was the ease with which he lofted the ball into the gaps while staying rooted to the crease. The surface wasn’t by any means quick, and Butt merely stayed back, waited for the ball to come to him before powering it past the infield. The outfield was lightning quick and all Butt had to do was to place it just wide of the fielders to get a boundary. All this meant that the margin for error was minimal for the bowlers and once again it was Butt who made them pay. Bangladesh could have had him on 57 had Mortaza hung on to a difficult diving catch to his right at mid-off after the batsman had given Shakib Al Hasan the charge.Younis was his usual busy self at the crease, pushing the singles, and the pair brought up the 50 stand in 49 balls. The introduction of the spinners did little to stem the run rate. Shakib and Abdur Razzak, the left-arm spinners, varied their lengths, pushing it in quicker, sometimes giving it more flight, but the lack of turn allowed the pair to get the singles. Younis brought up his half-century with a reverse-sweep and by then the pair had gone past Pakistan’s highest second-wicket stand against Bangladesh, beating the 123 between Rameez Raja and Saeed Anwar in 1997.Mohammad Ashraful decided to bring on his seamers in the middle overs and the move paid off when Younis fell to a miscued pull off Shahadat. Mohammad Yousuf joined Butt and the pair clattered 17 off one Shahadat over, before Butt finally fell to a well-judged catch at long-on by Shakib. With two centuries and as many 70-plus scores, Butt entered the record books by going past Javed Miandad for the most runs scored by a Pakistan batsman – 451- in any tournament or series.Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq later added a breakneck 52 off just 5.4 overs to take Pakistan past 300. In the middle of the carnage, Mortaza managed 4 for 65, the only bright spot for the visitors.Batting, however, didn’t appear as easy under lights when Bangladesh took guard. Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique faced some quality seam bowling from Asif and Umar Gul and the pair lacked the technical nous to see off the new ball and then attack. Shakib was squared up by a brute of a delivery which beat him for pace and shaved the top of the off stump. With that wicket, Bangladesh lost their in-form player and it was only a matter of time before the rest tumbled.There were only two periods of resistance in the chase, though very contrasting in nature. Ashraful went on the attack in characteristic manner, peppering the on side with pulls and hoicks. Though not all came off the middle of the bat, it was entertaining all the same. The cameo knock of 30, off 26 balls, ended thanks to Misbah’s quick reflexes at slip. A slow seventh-wicket stand of 57 between Mahmudullah and Dhiman Ghosh was never threatening, as it was only to prevent them from being rolled over quickly. Razzak then delayed the inevitable with some lusty blows before the chase ended in the 41st over. The Twenty20 international on Sunday gives Bangladesh the only chance to save face on this tour.

<!–#cricinfo_inserttype: videoobject_id: 945201caption: 'Gutted I'm not going' – Plunkettsize: 3geoalt_video_object_id: 945201geoalt_video_caption: 'Gutted I'm not going' – PlunkettJason Gillespie, the Yorkshire head coach, has been left bemused by Liam Plunkett's omission from England's Test squad to tour South Africa.Despite being in the squad for the recent series against Pakistan, Plunkett has been leapfrogged by Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan and Mark Footitt for the South Africa trip, even though England will be without Steven Finn and Mark Wood due to injury.Plunkett was close to playing the final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah after Wood was ruled out due to his chronic ankle problem before the selectors opted to recall Samit Patel as a third spin-bowling allrounder. He was then added to the ODI and T20 squads when Wood was sent home for further assessment, but is still waiting for his first appearance of the UAE tour."I have only exchanged a couple of messages with Liam, I know he is bitterly disappointed,'' Gillespie said. "I will be catching up with him soon for a chat. My only hope is that he has been given a specific reason by the selectors as to why. We were left scratching our heads a little bit at Yorkshire."He has gone from almost playing to then not in the squad, in conditions that you would think suit him. Fast, bouncy wickets, he is one of the fastest bowlers in the country, so that is an interesting one."I'm sure the selectors have their reasons, as long as that has been communicated with clarity to Liam – that is my hope."Plunkett played the last of his 13 Tests against India, at Lord's, in 2014 having been recalled at the beginning of the summer following a gap in international cricket of four years – and an absence from the Test side of seven years."We've got two or three guys that have come back from injury that, at this stage, we think are in front of Liam," Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, said, "and obviously Footitt coming in gives us something different, being left arm and able to swing the ball. It is tough on someone like Liam who has been in and around the squads for the last year or so but unfortunately that's just the way the game is at the top level."He's a guy that people love having around in the team and he gives you 100% every single time he's on the training paddock and every time we pick him. He'll be disappointed I'm sure but I know he'll be doing everything he can to get back in the squad."Plunkett made his Test debut a decade ago against Pakistan, in Lahore, on the 2005-06 tour. He went onto play nine Tests by mid-2007 before being dropped as inconsistency plagued his game. It was not until a move to Yorkshire in late 2012 that his career was revived. He returned to the Test side against Sri Lanka, at Lord's, in 2014 before claiming a career-best 5 for 64 in the next match at his adopted home ground of Headingley where he took nine scalps overall.

James Anderson has reiterated his commitment to England on the eve of the third Test in Johannesburg. Confirming that he will not be entering into the IPL auction, Anderson made it clear that, whatever overs he has left in his career, they will be bowled for his country in Test cricket. Other players may be lured by domestic T20 leagues, but he will not.”My heart is with playing Test cricket for England,” Anderson, who missed the first Test at Durban with a calf injury, said. “So that is what I’ll concentrate on doing for the foreseeable future.”At the moment, where I am at this stage of my career, I want to make sure I’m in good nick to play Test match cricket for England. A couple of months off won’t be a bad thing. I’ll make sure I come back for Lancashire at the start of the season and get ready for the Test matches at the start of the summer. That’s where my head is at.”At the age of 33, and entering his 14th year of international cricket, Anderson’s importance to England’s Test fortunes is arguably higher than ever. With the team rebuilding both on the field and off it, his experience as the attack leader is second-to-none. And, when we come to reflect on this period for England cricket, and Anderson’s role therein, it may be that July 2014 comes to be seen as a turning point.True, there have been many setbacks since then – the World Cup springs to mind – and there are doubtless more to come. But, from that moment, it is possible to make out a gradual improvement, with a new team taking shape and results starting to improve.July 2014 was the date of the second Investec Test at Lord’s. England, despite every advantage, were well beaten by an Indian side with a poor record away from home. Coming not long after the end of a chastening Ashes whitewash, an embarrassing showing in the World T20 – England were defeated by Holland in their final game – and a home Test series defeat against Sri Lanka, and it seemed there was no end to their pain.To add to the burden, Anderson soon became embroiled in an investigation into his behaviour following an off-field clash with Ravi Jadeja in Nottingham. England, it seemed, were not very good and not very attractive.But following defeat at Lord’s – Ajinkya Rahane punished England for squandering winning the toss on a green pitch, before Ishant Sharma bounced them out in the second innings – the coach at the time, Peter Moores, held meetings with Anderson and Stuart Broad and made it clear that things had to change.England required more from them, Moores said. A young England side, finding its feet in international cricket, required its senior players to lead the way. And a young captain, Alastair Cook, had plenty to occupy his mind without struggling to understand why old friends and colleagues appeared unable to set the tone. Anderson and Broad needed to take responsibility; they needed to lead the way; they needed to be better.The conversation brought almost immediate rewards. Anderson, bowling with greater intensity, was named England’s man of the series for their next two Test series – (against India and West Indies; he had already won the award in the previous series against Sri Lanka, making it three in a row) – while Broad, bowling a fuller, more probing length, was unlucky not to have been named likewise for the Ashes. Arguably, neither has ever bowled so well, so often.It would be understandable if Anderson, knowing he is coming to the end of his playing career, followed the lead of players from numerous other teams and attempted to cash in with appearances in domestic T20 leagues. But he does have the advantage of knowing that ECB central contracts and match payments are worth substantially more than those from most other countries – with the exception of Australia – and he would be far from certain to win a deal in the IPL, anyway.But England supporters will be reassured that, in a year that offers a daunting 17-Test schedule, Anderson is as focused and committed as ever.”There is a slight worry about domestic T20 competitions doing so well,” he said. “But speak to players and there is a still a passion to play Test cricket. It’s a real test of someone’s character and skill. It still excites me. I love it. I prioritise it in my head and my heart.”I’m not the only person who feels like that in the world. Hopefully it’s not just players but fans too, but we need people to keep supporting the [Test] game so that it does flourish. Seventeen Tests in a year is a huge challenge, but I get excited about it and I look forward to it.”Training was optional for England on Tuesday, but they will have been encouraged by the sight of Nick Compton – well on the road to recovery from his stomach bug – timing the ball sweetly in the nets. While neither Cook or Joe Root looked in the best of form, the squad is now deemed to be free of sickness.Moeen Ali was the only one of the bowlers to have a net, but Anderson took the opportunity to peer at the wicket and suggested it should offer bowlers more than the Cape Town surface.”There will be more swing here because of the conditions,” Anderson said. “And hopefully there’ll be a bit more in the pitch as well.”The important thing is to think about the swing and the lengths we’re going to bowl. We know we might get a bit more carry and bounce, so we need to bowl a fuller length even with that bounce.”England will be glad they have Anderson back to exploit any help that might be apparent. Thirty-three he may be and a veteran of 111 Tests, but he remains he remains crucial to their chances of success.

Sunzamul Islam’s nine-wicket haul in the second innings helped North Zone crush Central Zone by an innings and 50 runs in Chittagong. The left-arm spinner’s 9 for 80 are the third-best bowling figures by a Bangladeshi bowler in first-class cricket.Sunzamul, bowling unchanged for 27.4 overs, ran through the Central Zone batting line-up on the third day to become the third man to snag nine in an innings in Bangladesh. The only batsman he couldn’t dismiss was Abdul Mazid, who was run out.Earlier batting first, North Zone posted 502 in 141.2 overs with Junaid Siddique making 181. Nasir Hossain, Dhiman Ghosh and Ariful Haque also struck fifties while seamer Shahidul Islam and left-arm spinner Taibur Rahman took two wickets each.In reply, Central Zone were bowled out for 233 runs with medium-pacer Farhad Reza claiming 4 for 38 and Sunzamul 3 for 64. Asked to follow on, Central Zone bowled out for 219. Nurul Hasan was the last man to fall, but having scored 113 off 111 balls, he helped a rather quirky incident take place – one team’s batsman making a hundred and the other team’s bowler racking up nine wickets in the same innings.South Zone also completed their innings and 44-run win over East Zone within three days in Sylhet. Abdur Razzak and Rubel Hossain set up the victory with a six- and five-wicket haul respectively.Batting first, South Zone posted 403 as Anamul Haque top-scored with 89, supported by fifties from Tushar Imran and Ziaur Rahman. Ebadot Hossain took three wickets. In reply, East Zone were first bowled out for 144 in 43 overs. Rubel took five wickets while left-arm quick Mustafizur Rahman and offspinner Sohag Gazi picked up two each.Following on, East Zone ran into the wily Razzak who finished with a 6 for 55 as they were bowled out for 215. Abul Hasan top-scored with 64 batting at No 8.

Indika de Saram showed that even at the age of 35 he has not lost his thirst for runs when he made twin hundreds for Ragama CC in their drawn Premier Tier A match against Moors SC at Braybrooke Place. Two new leaders emerged over the weekend in both Tier A and Tier B standings.de Saram, a former Sri Lanka middle-order batsman, followed his first-innings score of 125 with an equally satisfying 150 not out in the second innings. Ragama gained vital first-innings points which lifted them to second place, two points behind new leaders Bloomfield.Two other former Sri Lanka batsmen scored hundreds as Bloomfield crushed Badureliya CC by an innings and 23 runs to move to the top of the Tier A table. The win was fashioned by seam bowlers Nuwan Pradeep, Tyronne Gamage and Tharanga Lakshitha who knocked out the Badureliya batsmen for 63 in the first innings and 211 in the second. Saman Jayantha (106) and Chamara Silva (100) contributed nearly 70% of the runs in Bloomfield’s total of 297. These were the only two Tier A matches played last weekend.Saracens recorded their third straight win of the season by defeating Police SC by two wickets to move to the top of Tier B. In a low-scoring game at Police Park, Saracens, who conceded a first-innings lead of 67 after they were shot out for 98, came back strongly to dismiss Police for 112. Chasing 180 for victory, Saracens achieved the target with over a session of play remaining on the final day. Left-arm medium-fast bowler Prabath Priyankara, who took his first five-for in his sixth first-class match, left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara and right-arm medium-pacer Arosha Janodha were instrumental in the victory.Former Sri Lanka cricketer Dinusha Fernando kept Panadura SC in the hunt with a super all-round performance that helped beat Seeduwa Raddoluwa Cricket Club by ten wickets at Panadura. Fernando top scored with 67 and captured seven wickets in the match, including a spell of 4 for 8 in the second innings, as Panadura won with more than a day to spare.Air Force was the only other club to record a win beating Sebastianites by seven wickets at De Soysa Stadium in Moratuwa.Player of the Week – Indika de Saram
For a player of Indika de Saram’s class, age is no barrier as he continues to fight for recognition in the national side. de Saram’s effort against Moors SC. It was a display of batting which proved that de Saram was still determined to show the national selectors that he still has got the ability to score. Since breaking into the national team in 1999, and then losing his place two years later, de Saram has been fighting hard to regain his spot with some outstanding performances in domestic cricket. But his rewards have been meagre as the national selectors continued to ignore him. He led Sri Lanka to their first victory in the Hong Kong Sixes in 2007 and is one of the most hard-hitting batsmen on the domestic circuit today. For the past five years de Saram has continued playing cricket in the English leagues.”You have to give Indika all the credit for keeping himself motivated and continuing to score runs. He knows he is fighting a losing battle with the national selectors,” said Ragama CC president Roshan Abeysinghe. “You don’t need to pick Indika for a Test or ODI but he could surely fit into a Twenty20 side because he is 100% fit and is a clean hitter of the ball.”

Points table

Tier A

Tier B

Sunil Narine had a wonderful night. He tied up New Zealand late in the innings, just as he had in a one-day series in the Caribbean a few months earlier, and along with his fellow spinner, Samuel Badree, bowled eight overs for 38 runs to enable West Indies – with a little help from a Super Over – to defend 139.Narine’s wickets told of his distinctive talent; his figures of 3 for 20 reflecting his best display of the tournament. Two left-hand batsmen, James Franklin and Jacob Oram, fell to carrom balls: Franklin poked at one to be caught at slip, Oram was fooled by another that came back to trap him lbw. There was a third wicket, too, as Narine held his nerve in the penultimate over to have Nathan McCullum caught on the slog sweep.His captain, Darren Sammy, was delighted with his young spinner. “We played New Zealand at home and the last three games we won when it went down to the wire and Narine played a very important part in the latter overs. That’s why I used him in that manner – overs 17 and 19 – and he got two wickets in that period for very few runs. That was a key moment for us. It was a much better bowling display for us.”All in all it was a good night then, duly recognised with the Man-of-the-Match award, but Narine should also remember one careless moment that almost cost West Indies the match. His inexplicable fumble of a trundler at short fine leg in the final over of New Zealand’s innings not only gifted an extra run but it kept Ross Taylor on strike.New Zealand needed 14, 13 to tie, off Marlon Samuels’ final over and when Narine misfielded, the balance shifted. Neither West Indies spinner fielded well and such largesse cannot easily be survived.Samuels had been charged with bowling that final over after a lengthy consultation involving five West Indies players. He was chosen over Andre Russell, who has not had a good tournament, but Sammy could have bowled Chris Gayle or Kieron Pollard, too. Samuels was to bowl in the Super Over, too, an even greater surprise considering that the entire attack was available. He seems to bowl final overs or not at all, a curious speciality act.Sunil Narine’s tight overs at the death helped West Indies tie the game•AFP

Super Overs are surely designed for West Indies batsmen. Gayle struck a six off the first ball, a wide half-volley that was also a no-ball; Samuels finished it off with another six with one ball unused. Tim Southee’s intentions were sound – not only to bowl yorkers but, to Gayle at least, to bowl them wide of off-stump to escape his preferred hitting arc, but his execution was lacking. It can’t be easy to bowl yorkers in a Super Over with Gayle, muscular and threatening, stood at the other end.Gayle had played with formidable insouciance, as is his style, in the match proper, in making 31 from 14 balls, but at Super Over time, even he looked driven, almost tense, as he jogged up the dressing room steps to pad up. With his piratical bandana, he resembles Captain Jack’s more muscular brother.”Eighteen runs with Chris batting, it is always possible,” Sammy said. “We back Chris to clear the boundary. Six runs off a no ball was just a perfect start. When games get so tight the true West Indies celebrations come out. We can really dance. We have no difficulty doing that.”West Indies’ victory had seemed unlikely when they made only 139, which Sammy conceded was well below the 160 he had regarded as a likely ambition. Their balance again seemed awry. They again omitted three batsmen- Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith and Dwayne Bravo – and this time experimented with Russell at No 3. It was a bit late in the day for experiments and it did not come off, as he picked out short fine leg when he had made only 6.Not for the first time, the belief that if you silence Gayle you silence West Indies was disturbingly close to the truth. Gayle made 30 from 13 balls before he pushed cautiously at one that left him from Tim Southee and was caught at the wicket.Southee had silenced him once, but he was unable to silence him a second time. It was easy to sympathise.

Five overseas players who played for the Basnahira Cricket Dundee franchise in the Sri Lanka Premier League are still awaiting payment for the tournament that ended on August 31. SLC and Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) confirmed that Rilee Russouw has not received any of the payment owed to him, Charl Langeveldt has only received 25% and Dirk Nannes, Cameron Borgas and Daniel Smith are still awaiting 50% of their payment. In September, tournament co-organiser Somerset Entertainment Ventures had told ESPNcricinfo that all players had been paid in full.FICA CEO Tim May said both his organisation and the players had endured a “series of broken promises” from Basnahira Cricket Dundee since the end of the tournament, and that FICA would consider taking legal action if the matter was not resolved by the end of the week. He also said that SLC had ignored repeated emails from FICA over the past three weeks, and were “failing in their obligations” to the players.”We’ve tried to work with the SLC on this, but all of our correspondence remain unanswered,” he said. “I wrote to the SLC president but they’ve essentially gone into radio silence.”May said, however, that the players’ association in Sri Lanka had been in contact with the SLC over the issue. SLC president Upali Dharmadasa cited the World Twenty20 that concluded on October 8 as the reason he had not yet responded to FICA, but said SLC would make a reply next week.SLC CEO Ajit Jayasekara said SLC had been aware the players hadn’t been paid, and had written to the franchise urging them to make the payments. “We are very concerned about this, because it doesn’t look good for the SLPL,” he said.The SLPL was the first tournament for which FICA had insisted that player contracts contain a clause requiring franchises to provide a bank guarantee for the full amount of player payments. The bank guarantees could be invoked seven business days after a defaulted pay day, and the outstanding payment would then be credited to the player’s account.However, SLC has not provided evidence to FICA that these bank guarantees were ever obtained. In September, SEV CEO Sandiip Bhammer said franchises had instead procured pay orders for the full amount of player payments, which he said was a more powerful failsafe for players than bank guarantees, which were too complicated to obtain. However, with five players still owed money, either this failsafe was not activated, or it was not provided at all.May said according to the player contracts which are valid for three seasons, SLC must provide proof of bank guarantees at least 182 days before the next season of the SLPL. FICA has already said that it would advise players to boycott the SLPL if proof of these bank guarantees was not provided in a form agreeable to FICA.The Sri Lanka Cricketers’ Association was unreachable for comment.

Chris Tremlett and Andrew McGarry took the honours on Day two in thesecond ‘Test’ between India U19s and England U19s, played at the MAChidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Sunday.The tall English lad Tremlett played one of the best innings of hisyoung career with a commanding effort that earned him 61 runs. It wasa treat to watch the young lad play with such ease against the youngIndian spinners. He smashed six boundaries and two towering sixes, thesecond one to reach his fifty. He scored the bulk of the 45 preciousruns added for the last wicket with Monty Panesar, whose contributionwas just two runs.Chris saw two of his partners get run out just before lunch and kepthis concentration to score the valuable runs. Later in the day,Tremlett bowled well and picked up the wicket of the dangerous GautamGambhir. There was a happy face in the stadium, that of the Englishmanager, Tim Tremlett. He was delighted with his son’s remarkableperformance. Just before embarking on this Indian tour, Chris lost hisyounger brother in a tragic car accident. The Tremlett family will beproud of their son tonight.Resuming on 286/3, the English colts lost overnight batsman GJ Prattfor 30, edging a sharp rising ball to the keeper off the bowling ofAggarwal. Ian Pattison was lucky to be dropped by Mane in the slips,but did not last for long, bowled by SK Trivedi for 7. The ball kept ashade lower than what Pattison had expected it to bounce.In the meanwhile, Gordon Muchall played some crisp shots and tried tosteady the innings. Mark Wallace did not do himself justice by drivingoff the backfoot to a delivery from Dharmichand; the ball took thebottom edge and Ratra took the catch behind the stumps.Chris Tremlett came in at 312/6 and helped Muchall put on 42 for theseventh wicket. Muchall played the shot of the morning session,dancing down the track to the off spinner Dharmichand, lofting himstraight for a huge six. Muchall was unlucky to be dismissed on 49, adirect hit from the substitute fielder Mishra. His innings wasdecorated with five boundaries and a six.JE Bishop made the cardinal sin of not grounding his bat as he was runout for a duck by YG Rao to leave England at 354/8. At the same scoreMcGarry was trapped LBW by Aggarwal for a duck. England had undone allthe good work they did on the first day.Tremlett and Panesar got together at 354/9 and put on their brilliantpartnership to take England to 399 all out in 144.2 overs. Tremlettwas caught in the covers while trying to clear the infield, going forquick runs. Nitin Aggarwal bowled well to pick 19-6-46-2.Requiring 250 runs to avoid following on, India colts got off to aflying start. Vinayak Mane and Gambhir were in great touch, smashingthe ball for boundaries. Mane struck three fours in his innings of 12before being bowled by McGarry, as the batsman shouldered arms to aball that was coming in a little and removed the off stump.Gambhir played some astounding pull shots off the bowling of McGarryand Bishop in scoring 23 runs. Tremlett was brought in from the farend. In the fifth ball of the over, Gambhir went for a square drive,played it in the air and John Sadler took a good catch at point.The first ball after the tea break saw Gary Pratt drop Rao atmidwicket. The bowler to suffer was Panesar. Rao had added five moreruns and moved to 18 when Ian Bell floored an easy chance off thebowling of Panesar. The English fielding effort was not anywhere nearthe standards that they strive for.McGarry who had accounted for the dangerous looking Gambhir justbefore tea, dealt two telling blows in the 32nd over reducing thehosts to 103/4. He trapped YG Rao LBW with the fifth ball of the overand had Alind Naidu caught behind with the following delivery. Raomade 30 runs off 60 balls, which included six strokes past theboundary ropes.Panesar’s dreadful run of luck continued as Pratt again floored aneasy chance at midwicket. The batsman to benefit this time was Gandaon 42. Ganda as a matter of fact toyed with the young Panesar’sbowling, belting him for boundaries to the midwicket and cover fence.Ian Bell impressed with his astute captaincy, using his fast bowlersin short spells. At close of play India U19s had moved on to 122/4 in39 overs. Ganda and KR Khadkikar are the unbeaten batsmen with 45 (5fours) and 9 respectively. McGarry’s excellent show with the ballfetched him the figures of 9-1-29-3.

Honours were just about even after the first day of the Youth Test between Australia and England Under-17’s at Adelaide on Monday.Batting first after winning the toss, Australia declared their innings closed on 277-7 before leaving England a tricky 45 minutes to bat in which they lost one wicket, adding 33 runs.The day was one for team contributions, rather than one player dominating the card. No less than six Australians passed 25, with the highest scorer being Kenneth Skewes. Skewes, who made 51, came in with the innings threatening to falter somewhat on 121-4. The right-hander sensibly added 59 with Simon Hill (45), then another 49 with Tim Paine before becoming Gary Scott’s only wicket. Keeper Tim Paine made a grafting 37 before the Aussies decided to declare. David Stiff was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2-20 in 17 overs.In reply, England lost Andrew Gale, cutting Grant Sullivan to point. They should have picked up a second wicket before the close, as skipper Joe Sayers glanced a ball from Sullivan into the hands of Tim Paine behind the stumps. The celebrations were premature however, as the umpire had signalled a no-ball. It was one of eight no-balls from Sullivan.The game is only scheduled for three days, and England will need to pick up the scoring rate if they are to have a chance of forcing a result.