Cricket: English jubilation short-lived

England Under-19 v Australia Under- 19

AN HOUR before lunch England were jubilant. Despite some typical Australian fire from the tail they had bowled out their oldest opponents reasonably cheaply and felt in command of this first Test. By tea, when the first spots of rain arrived, they had the slightly haunted look that characterises their seniors.

A good performance in the field had been followed by another batting eclipse, the first five wickets falling for 78, and the Australians, never quiet and subdued for long, were a-whooping.

Australia's recovery, from 127 for 7 overnight, stuttered at the start of a hot and steamy morning. The pitch had dried a little, the ball coming on happier to the bat, but once the effect of the roller had worn off it was helpful to the seamers. Sean Clingeleffer, the tall left-handed keeper who had batted as well as anyone in Tuesday's crisis, became the fifth lbw victim of the innings with only three added, then Adam Vosges was well taken at slip at 140, at which point England's bowlers hit a rock.

Damian Mackenzie and Paul Byrom, the fast-bowling last pair, had no reputations to lose. Queensland's Mackenzie, swinging his bat like a Glenn McGrath, took 27 off 32 balls, including five boundaries, and the stand raised another 33 before Matt Bulbeck, the best and most experienced of England's bowlers, dismissed Byrom.

Australia returned reinvigorated to demonstrate that, unfamiliar as they may be with one of the bear's picnic pitches, they are quick to learn. The England captain, Michael Gough, scored three handsome boundaries before becoming Mackenzie's first victim, and when the Queenslander returned he ripped out the England middle order with a spell of 7-3-8-3. England were grateful for the new directive that limits under-age fast bowlers to seven overs at one time.

Nathan Hauritz, another Queenslander, contributed some interesting flighted off-spin before, in almost a replay of the Australian innings, England's last pair of Bulbeck and Ian Hunter brought the match back into balance.

Bulbeck, on this evidence, is the outstanding talent in the England team, and of all the capable left-arm quick bowlers in the country he seems likely to advance the quickest, not least because of his batting talent. The ebullient Mackenzie finished with figures of 4 for 23 and may be the decisive character in this match.

Australian senior players fear they may be ignored by English counties because of new powers allowing the Australian Cricket Board to terminate a player's contract.

The ACB has approved a condition allowing its board to cancel a player's contract in an overseas competition if it is concerned about the player's fitness. Players in English county or other competitions will be subject to medical examinations and will be asked to withdraw from contracts if they are risking long-term injury.

The ACB also said players could be docked pay from their contracts if they injured themselves playing abroad.