England will make their televised debut in the ICC Under-19s World Cup against West Indies in Chittagong tomorrow aiming to secure their place in the quarter-finals.
Brad Taylor’s team made the perfect start to the tournament with a 299-run demolition of World Cup newcomers Fiji on Wednesday, but are ready for a much tougher test as they move to the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong’s international cricket venue, for a game that will be shown live on Sky Sports.
West Indies had a crushing victory of their own in the warm-up matches against Scotland, piling up a total of 342 for five with centuries for their captain Shimron Hetmyer and his fellow Guyanian Tevin Imlach.
They played out an exciting tie against South Africa in their other warm-up game when Hetmyer was out for a duck, but Keacy Carter led them to a respectable total and off-spinning all-rounder Michael Frew impressed with bat and ball.
#ShotOfTheDay A jubilant Nepal U19 team celebrate their amazing victory over New Zealand in #U19CWC pic.twitter.com/TG5Ckpkf7K
— ICC (@ICC) January 28, 2016
They are coached by Graeme West, who previously worked at Middlesex, and could include Kirstan Kallicharan, a leg-spinner from Trinidad who captained West Indies Under-15s on a tour of England last summer.
The second day of the tournament brought a first major shock, as Nepal beat New Zealand by 32 runs in Fatullah.
Nepal could now secure a place in the quarter-finals on Saturday if they can beat Ireland – although the Irish, who were late entries to the competition following the withdrawal of Australia, gave India a few nervous moments before the World Cup favourites eased home by 79 runs.
Zimbabwe, who complete England’s group, play their first game of the tournament against Fiji at the M Aziz Stadium in Chittagong tomorrow, before facing England on Sunday.
Source: ECB