Ryan Davies shines for England U19s at the WACA

Monday 6th April 2015

Men’s First Team

Ryan Davies shines for England U19s at the WACA

Kent wicketkeeper Ryan Davies struck a valuable half-century in testing conditions for England Under-19s, who were bowled out by Australia U19s for 172 on day one of their four-day ‘Test’.

The 18-year-old had to step up at the WACA Ground after England were reduced to 32 for five inside 19 overs, and led the way well with his 61 off 79 balls, which came alongside an 84-run stand with Aaron Thomason.
Warwickshire’s Thomason clocked eight fours in his 40 off 58 balls, to complement the 11 fours and a six from Davies. With 23 and 10 respectively, Ben Green and Saqib Mahmood combined for 29 for the final wicket to boost the tally.
Overall, Henry Thornton’s 4-17 in 13.1 overs, including that of England skipper and opener Joe Weatherley for three, meant the total would take some defending.
Kent colleague Hugh Bernard, also 18, was not selected but the tourists' attack had early success with the new ball.
Mahmood trapped Jake Carder lbw in the first over, before Green got rid of Australia captain Jaron Morgan for 19 caught behind by Davies before skipper Weatherley took the catch off Callum Taylor’s bowling to dismiss Matt Short for just eight.
However, Australia eventually reached stumps on 103 for three, in exactly 32 overs, with Sam Heazlett not out on 68 and Jake Doran giving him company on four.
While he lamented the early loss of wickets, Andy Hurry, Head of the England Development Programme, added: “It was important that we started well and with the new ball, Saqib Mahmood set the tone making an early breakthrough in the first over.
“We built pressure with a disciplined bowling display and throughout the remainder of the day’s play we created opportunities. Having been behind in the game, the whole team responded and showed excellent resilience to place the Australian top-order under pressure.
“The first hour tomorrow is crucial to influencing the result of this game and it is imperative that we take the learning from our first innings batting to give ourselves the best chance to gain a winning result.
“The game has progressed at a rapid pace and the key for us moving forward is to gain control of the game.”
Play resumes at 3am BST at Perth tomorrow.