The 2nd Youth Test encounter between Sri Lanka & England began today at Derby. England U19 who won the toss and decided to bat first managed to compile 268 runs for the loss of 4 wickets at stumps on Day 1.
After a splendid fourth innings chase during the first test, Sri Lanka came into this match with a lot of momentum. After winning the toss and deciding to bat first the English youth openers provided them with a watchful start to see off the new ball. But all the hard work was quickly undone thanks to Wanuja Sahan(2) & Duvindu Ranatunga(1) as the hosts lost 3 wickets in the space of 15 runs.
With England U19 in dire need of a partnership, Matthew Hurst joined in the middle with the opening batsman Harry Singh. Hurst & Singh managed to do exactly that as the pair was very watchful and put away the loose deliveries to keep the scoreboard moving. Both the youngsters batted with a lot of authority as the Sri Lankan youth bowlers struggled to find a breakthrough. The partnership went past the 3 figure mark and inched closer towards a double-century stand as Hurst reached a well-deserved century.
The pair almost batted until stumps but Sahan Mihira finally found the all-important wicket of Hurst just 14 deliveries before stumps to give the visitors some sort of relief. Hurst made an excellent knock of 116 which included 11 fours. With his dismissal, the 202-run mammoth stand for the 4th wicket also ended. England U19 survived the remanded delicious without further damage as the scoreboard read 268 for 4.
English opener Singh who batted throughout the day with a lot of patience was unbeaten on 98 after facing 283 deliveries. Sri Lanka will be looking forward make some early inroads on Day 2 while Singh & rest of the English batters will aim for a score over 400 or even 500 with 6 wickets in hand.
