Davies and Bernard impress in England Under-19 warm-ups
Saturday 1st August 2015
Ryan Davies impressed with the bat for England Under 19s despite being denied victory in their two-day warm-up match against Unicorns at Loughborough.
The Kent wicketkeeper added 37 in a 95-run fifth wicket with Essex teenager Daniel Lawrence before they declared in a bid to force a win.
Unicorns were reduced to 94-8 before batting out 11 overs for the draw as England Under-19s head north for next week's four-day challenge against their Australian counterparts on August 4-7.
Coach Andy Hurry said: "They were challenging batting conditions and Dan applied himself really well. He got good support from Ryan Davies, and after the two innings a lot of our batters have had time in the middle. One or two guys would wish they'd had more, but that's cricket."
Mahmood and his new ball partner, Yorkshire's Jared Warner, were quickly into the Unicorns again, and after Sussex's left-arm seamer George Garton chipped in with a wicket Hameed handed to his spinners.
Australia's Under-19s will also have taken plenty out of their game against an Invitational XI featuring Kent Cricket Academy graduate Hugh Bernard.
After slumping to 35-5 in reply to 354-6, they recovered to 159-9 declared thanks mainly to a half century from their highly-rated middle order batsman Jake Doran.
Kent's Bernard, who recently signed his first pro contract with the club, was the pick of the bowlers with four for 39.
The 18-year-old will join Ryan Davies in the England U19 squad for the Royal London one-day series, which starts on Tuesday 11 August.