Bracewell jnr gets New Zealand up and running

Doug Bracewell, nephew of former New Zealand coach John, emphatically claims one of his three wickets versus Canada

Hosts New Zealand got their Under-19 World Cup campaign off to a fine start with a nine-wicket demolition of Canada in Group C.

Number three James Neesham smashed 47 not out from 20 balls at Lincoln to overhaul Canada’s paltry 128 in 19.1 overs after opener Tom Latham struck 41.

Earlier, Doug Bracewell, nephew of former senior New Zealand coach John, and Logan van Beek claimed three wickets each as Canada were dismissed in 29.3 overs.

In Group B, Australia thumped USA by 108 runs thanks to four wickets from seamer Alister McDermott, son of former international quick Craig.

McDermott junior’s 4-29 in 10 overs restricted the US to 154 all out from 41.2 overs, despite 70 from Andy Mohammed.

Australia opener Tom Beaton earlier led the way with 73 in his side’s 262 all out in 49.3 overs in Queenstown.

Meanwhile, in Group D, Bangladesh enjoyed a comfortable five-wicket Duckworth/Lewis win over Papua New Guinea.

Bangladesh seamer Abul Hasan’s 4-22 in nine overs restricted PNG to 191 for nine in their maximum 46 overs, thanks largely to Tony Ura’s 70.

Shabbir Rahman’s quickfire 51 completed a facile victory with 18.4 overs to spare in Palmerston North.

Meanwhile, England beat Hong Kong by nine wickets in Lincoln.