U19 captaincy just the start for Best

Paul Best has his sights set high. The 18-year-old captained Warwickshire Second XI for much of this season and is determined not only lead his county but also his country.

Best has just had a taste of international captaincy on the England Under-19s tour of Bangladesh and hopes to retain the role for January’s Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand.

To do that, he must be preferred to tour captain Azeem Rafiq, who stood aside for the last three matches of the one-day series that concluded last week.

And after the tourists won two of his games in charge, Best is hopeful of retaining the responsibility.

“I’d like to think I’d be in the frame. It’s something I really enjoy doing - one of my favourite parts of the game - so to be in the mix for New Zealand would be great,” the self-assured youngster told ecb.co.uk.

Paul Best helped England restore pride as he led them to two wins from three at the climax of the one-day series against their Bangladesh counterparts © Bangladesh Cricket Board

“My ultimate ambition would be to play for England and captain England. Warwickshire captain is definitely something I have my sights set on, but it’s a long way away and I’m very happy with doing the second team at the minute.”

Best was given his chance to lead the side after sitting out the fourth one-dayer, when England relinquished the seven-match series.

“I captained Warwickshire second team this summer, for the majority of their season, so the coaching staff were aware I could do it,” he continued.

“Part of the way through the series we were 4-0 down so I suppose (we hoped) a fresh approach would produce a victory - and it did work for a couple of the games.

“I don’t think it was any reflection on Az (Rafiq), it was just changing it up and seeing how that worked.”

Best oversaw a five-wicket triumph at Fatullah - England’s first competitive win of the tour - which they followed up with victory by three wickets in Mirpur.

Although Bangladesh edged the last match, Best feels the 5-2 scoreline was harsh on the tourists who lost the series opener by one run.

“The Bangladesh team were very confident after those victories so it was nice to get off to a winning start (to his captaincy) and put them on the back foot a bit for the next couple of games,” he continued.

“Considering how well we did in the two games we won, and two of the games we lost were very close, I think 5-2 might be a touch harsh reflection of how the series went.

Best took over the under-19 one-day captaincy from Azeem Rafiq but said: “I don’t think is was any reflection on Az"

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“The way Bangladesh played in the middle periods, they really did outplay us in some of the assets of the game. They probably did deserve to win the series as a whole, but I think it was a closer series in reflection.”

The left-arm slow bowler was consistently economical throughout the tour, capitalising on Bangladesh’s slow wickets.

The captaincy did not prove a distraction as he claimed 1-25 and 1-18, both from 10 overs, in his first and last match in charge.

In between, the left-handed batsman chipped in with 20 not out from 16 balls, including a four and six, to see his side home with eight balls to spare in Mirpur.

“I was very happy with how I bowled in a couple of the games: my 1-18 and 1-25. I was happy with my economy rates there,” Best said.

“I was very happy in one of the games I was captain and we won and I got a little 20 not out at the end to help win the game.

“It was very nice to see the team home after the good start they made. So they were the three highlights of my trip.”

Best and his under-19 team-mates are enjoying a week’s rest before they build up to the World Cup, for which the final squad is still to be confirmed.

Their training programme, ahead of flying to New Zealand on January 1, includes three weeks at the National Cricket Centre in Loughborough and one in each Manchester and Cardiff.

However, he believes that the month-long trip to Bangladesh has aided their chances for group games against Asian trio Hong Kong, Afghanistan and India.

“I had a really good time. Obviously it's a completely different place to how it is here, a bit of a cultural clash I think," he concluded.

“All the players learnt a lot from it both on and off the field. I’m just looking forward to the World Cup now. It was a good learning experience for the World Cup.”