England come up just short

England resticted Bangladesh to 206 all out but stumbled with victory in sight

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England Under-19s’ tour of Bangladesh ended in thrilling fashion as the hosts secured an eight-run victory in Dhaka to finish the series 5-2 victors.

Azeem Rafiq had kept the tourists on course to chase down 207 but he was ninth out, with nine needed from eight balls, and Nathan Buck fell two deliveries later as Bangladesh prevailed.

Buck had earlier claimed 3-43 from 10 overs, and fellow seamer Matthew Dunn 3-42 from 6.5, as England dismissed their opponents on the penultimate ball of their 50-over allocation.

Forties from Charlie Roebuck and Jos Buttler, plus 39 from Ben Stokes, kept England up with the rate but Rafiq’s demise proved pivotal.

Bangladesh won the toss and opener Saikat Ali led the way with 52, featuring six fours. He added 76 for the second wicket with Amit Majumdar, who made 32.

England struck at regular intervals thereafter and left themselves a target that made three consecutive wins a strong possibility.

However, they slipped to 36 for three in the 15th over before Roebuck and Buttler added 64. Off-spinner Mahmudul Hasan removed both, for 40 and 42 respectively, en route to 3-45 from 10 overs.

Stokes and Rafiq joined forces but the former was run out in the 46th over and Rafiq was trapped in front by Sabbir Rahman for 31 from 25 balls, including five fours.

Buck was caught off left-arm spinner Shaker Ahmed for eight as England’s month-long trip came to a disappointing conclusion.

Tour captain Azeem Rafiq, who handed the match-day reigns to Paul Best for the last three ODIs, said: “It has been a very good for all the players to experience conditions in Bangladesh.

“The conditions are very different to what we are used to and to perform well we have had to adapt and apply our techniques and skills in different ways.

"Some players have done this more quickly than others and we have learnt valuable lessons.”