Nepal prove surprise package against England

England were given a bit of a hurry up by the unfancied Nepal team in their opening game of the ICC Under-19 World Cup at Lincoln No. 3 at Lincoln University near Christchurch today.

England finally won by 37 runs when dismissing Nepal in the last over.

England scored 204/6 when batting first. Gordon Muchall scored 57 off 105 balls but didn't hit a boundary during his innings. Bilal Shafayat hit 45 not out off 63 balls and Nicky Peng 36 off 50.

The plucky Nepalese produced some fine bowling figures. Captain Binod Das took one for 38 from his 10 overs, while left-armer Sakthi Gauchan went even better when taking one for 34 from his 10. Basant Regmi backed them up with none for 39 from his 10.

Nepal defended well but wickets tumbled regularly and at 102/7, England must have felt the game was all over. The Nepalese had different ideas however, especially Sanjam Regmi who finished the game 35 not out off 34 balls having hit five fours. Had he been a little higher in the order he might well have dragged his side closer to the win.

The earlier damage for England was down by Paul McMahon who took five wickets for 25 runs from his 10 overs.

England play Papua New Guinea in their next match on Wednesday while Nepal meet Pakistan tomorrow. The big game of the round is shaping as Pakistan-England on Friday.