Robbo's back at finishing school

The England squad at the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand were briefed on the dangers of corruption and doping in Christchurch on Friday as part of the ICC's "finishing school" for future internationals.

This inexperienced group gathered in a room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on the eve of their opening match against Hong Kong to hear about the responsibilities and pressures of playing at international level, perhaps for the first time. ESPN television broadcasts from Christchurch, especially when involving India -- England's main rivals in Group A -- was no doubt good for the game's prestige, but the ICC pointed out that live coverage would stimulate the interest of the enormous betting community on the subcontinent.

The ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said during the tournament's build-up: "It is always our intention to operate the tournament in much the same way as we run our major international events - like the Cricket World Cup or World Twenty20. It is like a finishing school for the next generation of top players."

The England squad were reminded about the ICC's zero-tolerance policy on doping and warned of the constant vigilance against potential corruption. A few players were probably surprised at the ways influence might be sought from them. Penalties could be imposed by the ICC for "inappropriate activities" such as simply chatting to outsiders about team colleagues or about turf condition.

Lorgat said: "History tells us that many of the players competing in New Zealand will soon be playing senior international cricket. Indeed, some have already done so. So introducing them to some of the wider responsibilities and challenges of the international professional game will be beneficial as they look to make their mark at the higher levels. As a sport, we take our responsibility to keep the game free of taints such as corruption and drugs very seriously. So the earlier we can educate players on these issues the better."

A pattern emerged from Friday's opening games as chilly winds blew across the Canterbury plain and continued to depress temperatures. Upper order batsmen tended to struggle in the morning, and seam-bowling, rather than spin, might be a crucial factor in this tournament.

India demolished Afghanistan at Lincoln University by eight wickets after their new-ball attack of Sandeep Sharma and Saurav Netrawalkar had taken an immediate grip. Over at Queenstown in Group B, Ireland collapsed to 36-4 against South Africa before Ben Ackland, a former Queen's College schoolboy from Taunton, led a recovery with 66 in a fifth-wicket stand of 117 with Lee Nelson.

Ireland's 50-overs total of 216-6 was a fine effort, but the South Africans roared to a five-wicket win in 43.4 overs, assisted by 21 wides. Shane Getkate, of Warwickshire, conceded 36 runs off his four overs with the new ball, mauled by the Gauteng left-hander Dominic Hendricks. Paul Stirling was part of the early collapse, out for 19, but his Middlesex colleague Stuart Poynter hit 25 off 14 balls to put gloss on the recovery.

After their ICC briefing England completed an arduous nets work-out at Lincoln while India were finishing off the Afghans in a neighbouring field. The pace of Nathan Buck and left-armer David Payne was much in evidence, and Adam Ball, the youngest squad member at 16, offered enough fire and swing with his left-armers to show he was in New Zealand for more than just 'experience'.

The wrong sort of experience befell the Sri Lanka player Rushan Jaleel this week. The off-spinner was reported to the ICC for a suspected illegal action after the warm-up match against Hong Kong at Hagley on Monday. But no one here would blink an eyelid, as five such cases were reported at the previous World Cup in Malaysia in 2008. It is disturbing to imagine how throwing could have proliferated without this ICC crackdown.

Though England were badly beaten by New Zealand in a warm-up game at St Andrew's College on Tuesday, Robinson pointed out that the hosts had themselves been embarrassed the previous day and came in against England with some home truths ringing in their ears. England simply turned that defeat to their advantage. "Sometimes it's not a bad thing to get a wake-up call," Robinson said. "Since then the intensity of the net practice has gone up, which is what you would want."

ENGLAND UNDER-19
Azeem Rafiq (Yorks, captain), Adam Ball (Kent), Michael Bates (Hants), Paul Best (Warwicks), Danny Briggs (Hants), Nathan Buck (Leics), Jos Buttler (Somerset), Chris Dent (Gloucs), Matthew Dunn (Surrey), Ateeq Javid (Warwicks), Jack Manuel (Worcs), David Payne (Gloucs), Joe Root (Yorks), Ben Stokes (Durham), James Vince (Hants).