England beat Pakistan by 10 runs in one-off Youth Test

ARUNDEL: Ralphie Albert's six-wicket haul in the second innings propelled England U19 to an enthralling 10-run victory over Pakistan U19 on the final day of the one-off Youth Test here at the Arundel Castle Cricket Club Ground on Saturday.

The pulsating day got underway with the home side resuming their second innings from 121/1, leading by 149 runs, through top-order batters Leo Selvey-Clinton and Issac Mohammed.

England U19, however, had an unwanted start to the final day as Mohammad Sayyam struck on just the second delivery after the resumption, dismissing Issac, who made 46 off 57 deliveries with the help of seven boundaries.

Following the early setback, captain Albert joined Selvey-Clinton in the middle for a crucial 75-run partnership for the third wicket, during which the right-handed opener brought up his well-deserved century.

Left-arm spinner Mohammad Huzaifa eventually gave Pakistan U19 a much-needed breakthrough in the 55th over of England's second innings when he got centurion Selvey-Clinton stumped. The opening batter walked back after top-scoring with 107 off 195 deliveries, studded with 15 fours.

England U19 suffered another setback in the next over as Sayyam sent back wicketkeeper batter Joe Moores (one) to bring the total down to 197/4.

Captain Albert then shared a brief 25-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Jack Nelson (11) before falling victim to Ahmed Hussain and walking back after contributing with a 71-ball 40, featuring three fours.

His dismissal sparked a major collapse, which saw England U19 lose their remaining five wickets for just 21 runs and were thus bowled out for 233 in 66.4 overs, setting Pakistan U19 a formidable 262-run target.

Ahmed was the standout bowler for Pakistan U19 in the second innings as he picked up four wickets for just 23 runs in his five overs, followed by Huzaifa with three and Sayyam with two, while Abdul Subhan made one scalp.

Chasing a tricky 262-run target on the final day, Pakistan U19 eventually fell agonisingly short of victory as they were bowled out for 251 in 62.1 overs despite Abdul Qadir's anchoring half-century.

The visitors got off to a decent start to the pursuit as their openers, Usman Khan and Aliyan Salman, 25 each, put together a 50-run partnership before falling victims to Albert, who also sent back all-rounder Ahmed (one) cheaply to bring their total down to 60/3.

Following the triple setback, captain Farhan Yousaf joined Qadir in the middle, and the duo batted sensibly to put together an important 124-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

But Albert struck again to break the century-plus partnership by cleaning up Pakistan captain Farhan, who made an anchoring 47 off 77 deliveries with the help of five boundaries.

Qadir was then involved in a brief 17-run partnership with wicketkeeper batter Hamza Zahoor until eventually falling prey to Albert. He walked back after top-scoring with an 87-ball 80, laced with seven fours and a six.

His dismissal paved the way for Hasnain Abbas Dar, who scored a half-century in the first innings, to walk out and bat at No.7, and the duo forced Pakistan U19's comeback by sharing a 33-run partnership.

Jack Nelson broke the budding partnership on the final delivery of the 55th over by dismissing Hamza, who made a 38-ball 22.

He struck again in his next over, dismissing Mohammad Sayyam, while Albert sent back Abdul Subhan, both ducks, in the 60th over, to put England U19 just two wickets away from a sensational victory.

But Dar stood his ground firmly and had brought the equation down to just 11 runs required before throwing his wicket away in an attempt to play a big shot off Nelson, who struck again in his next over to round up the enthralling victory for England U19.

Albert remained the pick of the bowlers for England U19 in the second innings as he bagged six wickets for just 68 runs in his 21 overs, while Nelson made four scalps for 36 runs in his 7.1 overs.