MCA XI v England Lions, Mumbai, 1st day

Lions boosted by lower-order resistance

Cricinfo staff

January 29, 2008

England Lions 311 for 8 (Carberry 91, Trott 67, Malvi 4-41) v Mumbai Cricket Association XI
Scorecard

England Lions recovered from a shaky start to post a competitive 311 for 8 on the opening day of their Duleep Trophy warm-up match against Mumbai Cricket Association XI at the Brabourne Stadium.

Opener Michael Carberry, who top-scored with 91, was the mainstay for most of the day but by the close it was Adil Rashid, unbeaten on 54, who had put his side back on track in a 91-run stand for the seventh wicket with James Foster, who made 43.

The Lions got off to a poor start after being put in to bat, losing Michael Yardy and Joe Denly for ducks in successive overs from the seamer Usman Malvi. Carberry and Ed Joyce repaired the damage from a shaky 5 for 2 and took the score to 63 before Mun Mungela removed Joyce and James Hildreth to peg the Lions back to 79 for 4.

But Carberry stood firm and added 129 for the fifth wicket with Jonathan Trott to consolidate the innings. He looked set for a century before Malvi struck again, twice, to dislodge both batsmen. Trott fell for 67 from 106 balls while Carberry faced 181 balls for his 91.

Foster, the former England wicketkeeper who toured India with the Test side in 2001-02, and the legspinning allrounder Rashid then buckled down to lift their side from a dicey 209 for 6.

Nilesh Kulkarni, the left-arm spinner, struck with two wickets in the closing minutes to redress the balance for Mumbai, but Rashid remained unbeaten with Graham Onions for company.

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