BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - ENGLAND bowlers stamped their authority with a comprehensive beat down of defending champions Bangladesh, to open their campaign with a seven wicket win in the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup at Warner Park.
The British side never looked out of control of the game, as they ramped home with just under half of their overs remaining in the innings under conditions suited for batting.
Winning the toss, Bangladesh chose to bat first on a cool morning and never got their inning off to a positive start. The batsmen could not have handled the pace and swing of the English bowlers; they succumbed to the short-pitched and away swinging deliveries.
Within the first 10 overs, the Banglaeshis found themselves four down with only eight runs on the board. They struggled throughout most of their 35.2 overs inning, but the 10th-wicket pair of Ripon Mondol (33) and Naimur Rohman (11) managed to give some respectability to the total in a 46-run partnership.
Joshua Boydeon was the chief destroyer of the Asian batsmen, ending with figures of four wickets for 16 runs.
In reply, Jacob Bethell stroked a patient 44 from 63 balls to guide his team to their first win of the competition inside 26 overs.
He was supported by James Rew who contributed 26 from 39 deliveries.
With the dominant win, the young Englishmen now sit atop their group.
Action continues today (Jan. 17) with three games, including West Indies battling against Scotland and Australia taking on Sri Lanka, all in Basseterre.
