A 151-run fourth wicket partnership between Ed Barnard and Ben Duckett provided 1998 champions England a solid start in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup as they defeated the hosts United Arab Emirates by 213 runs in Abu Dhabi today.
In the other matches of the day, the West Indies let South Africa off the hook as the two-time runner-up recovered to win by 94 runs in front of Star Sports cameras at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Sri Lanka recorded a comfortable 49 runs victory over New Zealand at Sharjah Cricket Stadium and Zimbabwe completed a six-wickets victory over Canada at Abu Dhabi Oval 1.
Barnard scored 93 and Duckett contributed 83 as England scored 315 for eight in 50 overs after being asked to bat first at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Barnard's 73 balls innings was studded with 12 fours while Duckett also hit as many boundaries in an 80-ball knock as the two batsmen scored at an excess of seven runs per over. This partnership had come after openers Harry Finch (49) and Jonathan Tattersall (29) had put on 71 runs for the first wicket in 11 overs.
UAE were never in contention and were eventually bowled out for 102 in 33 overs with only captain Rohit Singh (38) and wicketkeeper-opener Shivank Vijayakumar (26) advancing to the double figures.
For England, Yorkshire's 18-year-old fast bowler and captain Will Rhodes finished as the pick of bowlers with three for 14 in seven overs.
South Africa, put into bat, had slipped from 85 for two to 117 for eight by the 37th over before it recovered to 198 for nine in 50 overs. South Africa lost three batsmen in the middle of the innings in a space of 16 balls to run outs.
However, middle-order batsman Yaseen Valli and all-rounder Justin Dill came to the rescue with a 62-run ninth wicket partnership in under nine overs. Valli was the ninth batsman out after scoring an attractive 53 off 57 balls that included five fours while Dill returned unbeaten on a 41-ball 34 which included two fours.
