Day 3 Talking Points - Boyden stars as England blow defending champions Bangladesh away
Watch the Match Highlights from Bangladesh vs. England, 01/16/2022
Boyden and the England bowlers wreak havoc
The foundations for England’s comfortable victory were built by opening bowlers Joshua Boyden and James Sales, who had Bangladesh scoring at less than a-run-an-over in a superb opening eight overs.
Sales looked sharp, finishing with figures of 1/29, but it was Boyden who impressed the most. At one point the Lancashire left-armer had figures of 2/3 after five overs, and finished with four wickets to his name for just 16 runs off nine.
Still just 17 years old, Boyden has been pushing for a call-up to the Lancashire first team after strong showings in the second XI, and on this evidence he will be a major force for England throughout the tournament.
England’s bowling ranks look strong in general for the tournament, with the opening pair well backed-up by fellow Lancashire seamer Tom Aspinwall and tidy offspinner Fateh Singh from Nottinghamshire. This England attack are a group to keep an eye on.
Work to do for the defending Champions
Bangladesh won this tournament two years ago and came into the current edition as one of the strong contenders to take the crown again. But they’ll have plenty to think about after a subdued display in Basseterre.
It was with the bat where Bangladesh looked off the pace, with the top six all falling for just 31 to leave the side in a heap of trouble. The tail did wag, with number 11 Ripon Mondol the only player to go past 15, finishing unbeaten on 33*.
The bowlers faced a near-impossible task, with England able to take hardly any risks and roll along at under four-an-over to reach the target with ease. But there were signs that, with more runs to defend, this Bangladesh attack has some real quality, with Ashiqur Zaman, Rakibul Hasan and Ripon Mondol standing out.
Bangladesh can take solace from the fact that their talented top-order are unlikely to be this disappointing again in the tournament. And they’ll have a chance to bounce back on Thursday when they face Canada in their second Group A match, with a match against UAE next Sunday rounding off their group stage fixtures.
With two qualifying for Super League from each group there is still hope for Bangladesh’s title defence, but they’ll need to sharpen up and fast.
Alex ‘safe-hands’ Horton sets a record
England keeper Alex Horton snaffled all of Bangladesh’s top three with sharp catches behind the stumps, and the Glamorgan star went on to take three more in the innings.
Those six catches is the most ever in a single match by an England keeper at an ICC U19 World Cup, and second only to Charith Fernando’s effort of eight in an innings for Sri Lanka back in 2002 against Zimbabwe.
Horton, who impressed with the gloves in a narrow 3-2 series loss away in Sri Lanka prior to Christmas, only turned 18 while already out in the Caribbean ahead of this tournament. And the youngster is said to be knocking on the door for a call-up to his county’s first XI next season.
With England likely to use plenty of overs from spinners Fateh Singh and Tom Prest during the World Cup, Horton will have many more opportunities to show his class with the gloves in the remainder of the tournament.