Disciplined England U-19 all set to take on Rest of India

The touring England under-19 side tasted victory in a make shift game at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Pune on Tuesday after two of the three days play was washed out. Now the visitors are in Mumbai to square off with the Rest of India Under-19 team in a three day game at the MIG grounds in Bandra from Thursday.

The Rest of India team is led by Maharshtra's Kashinath Khadkikar. The tourists had a fair look at Khadkikar in the match in Pune, where he put up a decent display with the bat. The other noted performance came from the West Zone Under-19 skipper Parthiv Patel who will be donning the gloves for the Rest side. Kiran Adhav put up a fine display with his spinning deliveries.

The tourists on the other hand looked very balanced and impressive both in the one day game in Pune and during practice. The openers Gary Pratt and John Sadler look very confident playing the spinners. Skipper Ian Bell and Kadeer Ali are confident middle order batsmen and in good touch so far. Most of the visiting batsmen are willing to charge the flighted ball and take the attack to the spinners, unlike their seniors in the past.

Andrew McGarry is pretty sharp and quick. He is tall and nippy. The other medium pacers Nadeem Malik and Kyle Hogg are good swing bowlers. Monty Panesar and Robert Ferely the two left arm spinners will be effective on the spinning Indian tracks. Ferely looks a very promising spin bowler and has good control over flight.

The wicket at the MIG is firm and hard. The recent Mumbai-Baroda Ranji Trophy match was played out for four days and the pitch played true through the entire match. The lush green outfield will encourage the players to give off their best diving efforts. The skies are clear and the forecast for the weather is fine as well.

The game against the Rest of India Under-19s will give the England side a chance to give all their players a fair run. Batsman Nicky Peng, who had not arrived when the team played their first match, will look to get his eye set in Indian conditions. Peng scored heavily in a series against Sri Lanka last year, and will be the man to watch out for on this tour as well. Although Nadeem Malik and Andrew McGarry worked up a fair pace and intimidated the West Zone Under-19 batsmen, the fastest England bowler is yet to arrive. If reports are to be taken seriously, Chris Tremlett, who will join the side soon, is the quickest of the lot.

While knocking batsmen over with pace is something that is unlikely to work consistently in Indian conditions, they can play a potent role. Obtaining early breakthroughs, the pacemen can make the work easier for the spinners. In this department too, England are reasonably well endowed. Monty Panesar, bowling his quick left arm spin, managed to tie down one end effectively in the game against West Zone. This gave Robert Ferley the chance to give the ball a bit of air and lure the batsmen into making a false stroke. In Ian Pattison, the England team have a useful allrounder.

The fact that the ground is a small one will play a significant part. Anything loose is likely to be dispatched for boundaries. The team that grabs the initiative will emerge on top. Whether the Rest of India boys will be able to unsettle the disciplined English remains to be seen.