Steady start for England in Under-19 World Cup

England Under-19 defeated Nepal Under-19 by 37 runs in the team's first match in the 2002 ICC Under-19 World Cup in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Having won the toss and decided to bat first, the backbone of England's innings was provided by a fourth wicket stand of 72 between Durham's Gordon Muchall (57) and Bilal Shafayat (45*) of Nottinghamshire. England captain Nicky Peng (Durham), contributed 36 runs to a final total of 204 for six wickets in the allocated 50 overs.

In reply, Nepal Under-19 lost wickets steadily and, having been 102-7 at one stage, were all out for 167. England's hero in the field was Nottinghamshire's Paul McMahon; the young off-spinner took five wickets for 25 runs in his 10 overs. Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Kyle Hogg (Lancashire), Bilal Shafayat and Samit Patel (both Nottinghamshire) all took a wicket each.

England's next group game is against Papua New Guinea Under-19 on Wednesday 23 January.