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MCA XI thumps England

Special Correspondent

— Photo: Vivek Bendre

PLAYING HAVOC: MCA XI’s Kshemal Waingankar (right) wrecked England with a five-wicket haul on Tuesday.

MUMBAI: Stung by pace, movement and sharp close-in catching, the England one-day squad stumbled to a 124-run defeat against Mumbai Cricket Association XI in the second practice game at the Brabourne stadium on Tuesday.

The local side, a mix of in-form league players looking to catch the Ranji selectors’ attention, accumulated 222 runs with bold hitting against the visitor, then made better use of the track to bowl out Kevin Pietersen’s squad for 98 in 25 overs.

Earlier put into bat, Sushant Marathe crafted 65 off 98 balls for the MCA XI.

Kshemal Waingankar, overlooked for the Mumbai team, picked up five for 37 in eight overs, his victims being Ian Bell, Pietersen, Samit Patel, Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright.

Graeme Swann (24 n.o.) was England’s top-scorer.

Pietersen, viewing the collapse as a good thing to happen prior to the one-dayers, said: “We had an easy game two days ago, this result was a good thing to happen. India did the job against Australia, congratulations to them. One-day cricket is a different format, a different game. We are looking to come back strongly.”

England’s inability to handle the MCA new ball bowlers Waingankar and Rajesh Verma (two for 12) raises doubt about its ability to handle the Indian pace attack. Rahil Shaikh (three for 35) too impressed.

The scores: MCA XI 222 for five in 50 overs (Sushant Marathe 65, Paul Valthaty 44) bt England 98 in 25 overs (Kshemal Waingankar five for 37).

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