By Dave Clark
Matthew Fisher insists England Under-19s can get the better of Pakistan in tomorrow’s Tri-series final – but only if all 11 players perform.
England slipped to a third straight defeat versus Pakistan by 90 runs yesterday, yet Fisher – who earlier this year became the youngest player to appear in competitive county cricket aged just 15 – says the talent is within the England ranks to overcome a side who won all six of their group matches.
“I think losing to them three times in the series has been hard mentally and physically, but I think all the lads know that if all 11 play their best game then we can beat them,” Fisher told ecb.co.uk. “It’s bringing all that together on one day.”
Speaking about yesterday’s defeat in Dubai, he added: “I thought we started off well, fielding and bowling, and had them squeezed quite tightly. We let them off a bit in the middle and they got up to a decent total, the outfield was not the quickest, with big boundaries.
“We set off well, but then Tats [Jonathan Tattersall] got run out and the game changed from there really.
“They got on the front foot and started bowling good areas and then we couldn’t really get it back but we did play some poor shots.”
Fisher is one of the youngest members of England’s touring party, but has enjoyed the experience of his first major overseas tour.
“I’ve learnt more on the touring side rather than the cricket side,” he continued. “I’ve never experienced how to go about a tour before so I think that’s been a big part of it - learning how to deal with bad days when you feel down and I think everyone here has had a bad day and it’s just picking everyone up.
“The cricket has come on too I think, getting used to these wickets and the conditions out here. I was a bit apprehensive about how hot it would be out here, but you get used to it.”