Root and Buttler see off PNG

Opener Joe Root eased England Under-19 to a warm-up win over Papua New Guinea with an unbeaten 72 in 24.2 overs at Christchurch

Joe Root and Jos Buttler struck unbeaten half-centuries as England cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea in the first of two warm-up matches ahead of the Under-19 World Cup.

Opener Root made 72 from 77 balls, with five fours and two sixes, and number four Buttler a run-a-ball 62, featuring six fours, as Azeem Rafiq’s side required less than half their 50 overs to pass PNG’s paltry 141 all out.

Seamer Matthew Dunn earlier claimed 3-24 in 6.3 overs while there were two wickets apiece for economical trio Nathan Buck, Paul Best and Rafiq, who won the toss, at Elmwood Park in Christchurch.

Middle-order batsman Sese Bau, one of four to reach double figures for PNG, top-scored with 33 in a team innings which spanned 46.3 overs.

England, who lost Chris Dent and Jack Manuel cheaply to John Reva, in contrast, needed just 24.2 overs to claim an eight-wicket win.

England’s other warm-up fixture is tomorrow against hosts New Zealand at St Andrew’s College, also in Christchurch.

Their first Group A encounter is versus Hong Kong on Saturday at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, just outside the South Island’s largest city.

Scorecard - England U19 v Papua New Guinea U19, World Cup warm-up, Jan 11 2010 (145 KB)