England Under-19s warmed up for their World Cup opener on Friday with a 153-run thrashing of Scotland in Dubai thanks mainly to Ben Duckett’s blistering 92.
Duckett flayed 11 fours and a six in the 68 balls he faced as Will Rhodes’ side racked up 281 for four after winning the toss at the International Cricket Council Academy.
Once opening batsmen Jonathan Tattersall and Dominic Sibley had made forties, Duckett dominated a stand of 128 with Ryan Higgins. He and Higgins fell in the closing overs, the latter for 60.
England undermined the reply with regular breakthroughs, Josh Shaw, Luke Wood and Miles Hammond striking twice. Eight Scotland players reached double figures but none went beyond 20 as their side was dismissed inside 40 overs.
Hosts the United Arab Emirates, England’s first opponents when the tournament starts on Friday, were skittled for 101 in a 10-wicket demolition at the hands of Pakistan.
Sri Lanka and New Zealand, the other teams in England’s group, beat India and Canada respectively - both by five wickets.
There were also warm-up wins for Bangladesh, South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe.