England Under-19s suffered a seven-wicket defeat to Australia in Perth to concede an unassailable 3-1 deficit in the five-match youth one-day international series.
Aaron Thomason’s gutsy 70, from 114 balls, was the lone hand as England were bowled out for 138 after losing the toss and then early wickets at the Murdoch University Ground.
Thomason got some late support from Brad Taylor in a 57-run seventh-wicket stand, after they had been thrust together with the score at 51 for six.
Local right-arm seamer Jhye Richardson did the damage with 4-33 – he was on a hat-trick in the opening over – before an unbeaten 52 from opener Jake Carder led Australia to their series-clinching win.
“It was a very tough day,” England Development Programme Head Coach Andy Hurry told ecb.co.uk.
“There was a little bit of moisture in the pitch early on and they certainly exposed that. We were slow out of the blocks, we didn’t get going.”
Thomason’s battling innings provided a clear highlight, however, and further enhanced his reputation which has blossomed so far on tour.
The 17-year-old Warwickshire all-rounder hit an unbeaten 66 when given his first chance in the series three days ago, when England lost with just a ball remaining, while he also impressed in the drawn Test.
Aus U19s have won the toss and elected to bowl in the 4th ODI against England in Perth. LIVE: http://t.co/g5a9JgSufDpic.twitter.com/t1WSP1fzPn
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) April 21, 2015
“One of the shining highlights of the day and the tour has been to see what a genuine all-rounder he is,” Hurry said.
“His performances with the bat have been inspirational. He has shown the way in how to approach playing ODI cricket and his performance today and his partnership with Brad Taylor gave us something to bowl at.
“It was an outstanding individual performance and those two collectively gave us a bit of a chance.”
While the series has been conceded there will be plenty to play for in the final game on Thursday, with Australia due to embark on a return tour to England from late July.
Hurry is also determined to leave Australia with a 3-2 scoreline which, while not a representing winning series, would be a respectable return for a group of players who are being groomed for the Under-19s World Cup in Bangladesh next February.
“To come out here and be exposed and play against an Under-19s Australian side in conditions they are not used to back home was always going to be tough,” he said.
“They haven’t performed to their potential, we’ve since glimpses of it, but the learning that has come from it gives them the opportunity to go forward and become better players.
“Don’t forget these guys are a year young. They have another year left on this programme in Under-19s cricket.”
The current squad has already toured together in Sri Lanka last year and Hurry has seen signs they are becoming a tight-knit group during the trip to Western Australia.
That was in evidence as they battled for a draw during the one-off Test before winning a close encounter to begin the ODI series in Bunbury.
“During tight games teams that are together tend to perform consistently,” he said.
“We have been involved in two tight games. That first one the shared hardship they had in Sri Lanka gave them that courage and unity to ensure they got over the line.
“In the third ODI, when it went right down to the wire, they were right under the pump.
“There was a 100-run partnership between (Sam) Harper and (Jake) Doran. They were up against it but showed great character to fight back and squeezed themselves back into the game.
“Those experiences have definitely helped them.”
Hurry hopes that will stand his side in good stead when Australia make their visit to England later in the summer.
“The difference for that series is that we’ll be in the back-end of our summer and the Australians will be in their pre-season,” he said.
“There is so much to play for because there is a World Cup coming up in February. We’re always looking at players and seeing the potential they have.
“One of the most important things about this programme is that we want people to make mistakes, the key thing is that they show the ability that they can learn from them.”