A washout at the WACA Ground rewarded England Under-19s for their brave batting yesterday as the one-off 'Test' with Australia Under-19s was drawn.
No play was possible on the fourth and final day in Perth, denying both teams the chance to press for victory with the game evenly poised.
England had been up against it after conceding a first-innings deficit of 283, but responded superbly by posting 342 for five to take a lead of 59.
Number three Haseeb Hameed played the anchor role with 91 not out from 256 balls while Aaron Thomason was unbeaten on 12 from 42 deliveries.
Hameed, who has been nicknamed ‘the Wall’ by his team-mates like steadfast former India batsman Rahul Dravid, said: “It would have been nice to get a hundred but I’m pleased with the contribution that I made.
“I knew we had to really dig deep and I had to be patient and quite disciplined in the way I played.”
Hameed and his fellow batsmen impressed Head of the England Development Programme Andy Hurry with how they adapted to the WACA’s bounce.
“I think they’ve shown some great character and inner drive,” Hurry said.
“It was a challenge for us adapting to the bounce at the WACA. I don’t mean people running in and bowling short. What I mean is when you put the ball on a good length you get quite steep bounce. Balls you can drive back home you can’t drive out here.”
Joe Weatherley’s side now turn their attention to five 50-over matches versus the same opponents, who are coached by former England batsman Graeme Hick. The first is on Monday.
Weatherley said: “It’s disappointing that we didn’t get on to play today.
“If we could bat for a session and a half or two sessions and then put them in for an uncomfortable two hours or so it would have been interesting to carry on momentum for the ODIs and to take a couple of scalps with us.”