Exciting teenage Hampshire prospect Dom Kelly brought a taste of Bazball to Wantage Road, Northampton, with an explosive and best yet knock of 88 on day three of England Under-19s second youth Test Match against Australia.
He and Essex's Noah Thain hit 12 fours as England fought back brilliantly from the depths of 145-5 the previous evening. With the tail also firing and Australia gifting 52 runs in extras, it was enough to earn England a slender first innings lead of 12. Earlier, Australia had made 396 all out.
Kelly, left, who has produced several noteworthy performances for the U19s in recent weeks, extended his overnight rearguard partnership with keeper Jack Carney (41) to 110, the pair doing an excellent job in steadying the ship before pushing on this Monday morning.
Left-handed Kelly, who earlier took 3-67 off 19 overs, was offside dominant, exquisite cover drives a feature of his innings, although when Australia packed the off-side field, he happily smashed Harjas Singh over mid-on for four.
Kelly and Thain then joined forces in an enterprising partnership of 62 in 12 overs which brought England’s deficit down into double figures. Kelly eventually fell to the new ball when the Winchester-based all-rounder hooked a short ball to the boundary fielder.
After England had been dismissed, Kelly bowled a lively spell with some well-directed short balls, but Australia closed 152-4, a lead of 140 going into Tuesday's final day's play. Australia went on to post 279, with England closing at 163-2. Kelly made three 50-plus scores against Australia U19s, an unbeaten ODI 50 followed by scores of 74* and 88 in the Tests.
He and Essex's Noah Thain hit 12 fours as England fought back brilliantly from the depths of 145-5 the previous evening. With the tail also firing and Australia gifting 52 runs in extras, it was enough to earn England a slender first innings lead of 12. Earlier, Australia had made 396 all out.
Kelly, left, who has produced several noteworthy performances for the U19s in recent weeks, extended his overnight rearguard partnership with keeper Jack Carney (41) to 110, the pair doing an excellent job in steadying the ship before pushing on this Monday morning.
Left-handed Kelly, who earlier took 3-67 off 19 overs, was offside dominant, exquisite cover drives a feature of his innings, although when Australia packed the off-side field, he happily smashed Harjas Singh over mid-on for four.
Kelly and Thain then joined forces in an enterprising partnership of 62 in 12 overs which brought England’s deficit down into double figures. Kelly eventually fell to the new ball when the Winchester-based all-rounder hooked a short ball to the boundary fielder.
After England had been dismissed, Kelly bowled a lively spell with some well-directed short balls, but Australia closed 152-4, a lead of 140 going into Tuesday's final day's play. Australia went on to post 279, with England closing at 163-2. Kelly made three 50-plus scores against Australia U19s, an unbeaten ODI 50 followed by scores of 74* and 88 in the Tests.
