Boon's boys mean business

Tim Boon is the kind of coach every journalist wants to be on tour with. The coach of the England Under-19 team always has time for a quiet word and a chat about the game. With the first two days of the scheduled three day game between West Zone Under-19 and England Under-19 at Pune being washed out, both teams were keen to come out on top in the improvised limited overs game that was played. As it turned out, the visitors were keener and walked away with the game. "I'm obviously very pleased with the result. It was good to post a total of 223. Our main batsmen got stuck in, that was good too. Gary Pratt made fifty odd and he really should have gone on to make a bigger score," said Boon.

"It was also reassuring to see the way the boys played. We've practiced some skills and drills back home and they implemented all that out in the middle. From a batting perspective, it was good to see the boys hitting the ball cleanly over the top," he added.

England are not exactly famous for producing exciting spin bowlers. Yet, the two left arm spinners in operation in the game against West Zone, Robert Ferley and Monty Panesar played a vital role. Was this a definite strategy? "I anticipate that we'll go into the `Test' match with two spinners. We have three out and out seam bowlers and some others who can chip in with medium pace. So that should be our composition," conceded Boon.

Playing warm up games before Under-19 `Test' matches doesn't always generate a lot of enthusiasm. For the visitors however, the practice matches were serious business. Boon explained that there were many things they had to gain from playing these kind of games. "Basically acclimatisation is one of the big aims. Playing in Pune is nice because it's not so humid. Just playing in Indian conditions is an experience. India obviously has very good spinners. As I said before, I think we have applied ourselves very well. The batsmen have used their feet well, and the left arm spin of Robert Ferley has been a big plus."

The England side is very keen to do well on this trip to India. With Nasser Hussain leading the senior team to victory in Pakistan, the England Under-19 skipper Ian Bell would like to match the feat by beating India at home. Whether that will happen or not is anybody's guess. For the time being though, one thing is certain. This England team is not going to live up to age old stereotypes. They aren't going to roll over and play dead when the spinners come on. And they certainly aren't going to leave the spinners out of their bowling plans either.