A 151-run fourth-wicket partnership between Ed Barnard and Ben Duckett powered 1998 champions England to a 213-run victory over hosts United Arab Emirates on the opening day of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
In the day's other matches, the West Indies let South Africa off the hook, the two-time runners-up recovering to win by 94 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, while Sri Lanka scored a comfortable 49-run victory over New Zealand at Sharjah Cricket Stadium and Zimbabwe completed a six-wicket victory over Canada at Abu Dhabi Oval 1.
Barnard scored 93 and Duckett contributed 83 as England amassed 315 for eight in 50 overs after being asked to bat first at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Barnard's 73 balls innings was studded with 12 fours while Duckett also hit as many boundaries in an 80-ball knock, as the two batsmen scored at an excess of seven runs per over.
The partnership came after openers Harry Finch (49) and Jonathan Tattersall (29) had put on 71 runs for the first wicket in 11 overs.
UAE were never in contention and eventually bowled out for 102 in 33 overs, only captain Rohit Singh (38) and wicketkeeper-opener Shivank Vijayakumar (26) advancing to double figures.
For England, Yorkshire's 18-year-old fast bowler and captain Will Rhodes was the pick of the bowlers with three for 14 in seven overs.
South Africa, put in to bat, had slipped from 85 for two to 117 for eight by the 37th over before recovering to 198 for nine in 50 overs. They lost three batsmen in the middle of the innings in the space of 16 balls to run-outs.
However, middle-order batsman Yaseen Valli and all-rounder Justin Dill came to the rescue with a 62-run ninth wicket partnership in under nine overs.
Valli was the ninth batsman out after scoring an attractive 53 off 57 balls that included five fours while Dill returned unbeaten on a 41-ball 34, which included two fours.
Dill, a 19-year-old from Port Elizabeth, was in action on the very first delivery of the West Indies' innings when he brought off a spectacular run-out to show Tagenarine Chanderpaul the way to the dressing room.
The West Indies never recovered from this shock when they were first reduced to one for three, then 30 for six before being sent packing for 104 in 35.2 overs.
Dill, who also returned figures of 6-2-17-2, was later declared Man of the Match though new ball bowler Kagiso Rabada was the most impressive bowler with figures of 8-3-14-3.
Valli backed up his 53 with two wickets for four runs.
In Sharjah, Sri Lanka opener and captain Kusal Mendis missed a century by nine runs and Sadeera Samarawickrama scored 67 as they defeated New Zealand by 49 runs.
Batting first, Sri Lanka posted 275 for nine with Mendis's 91 coming off 107 balls and included 11 boundaries while Samarawickrama belted six boundaries in an 81-ball innings.
The two batsmen put on 97 runs for the second wicket.
New Zealand were restricted to 226 for eight with captain Robert O'Donnell finishing as the top scorer with 43. For Sri Lanka, Lakshan Jayasinghe (two for 32), Binura Fernando (two for 42) and Anuk Fernando (two for 65) shared the wickets.
Brief scores:
South Africa beat West Indies by 94 runs (Dubai International Cricket Stadium)
South Africa 198-9, 50 overs (Yaseen Valli 53, Greg Oldfield 38, Justin Dill 34 not out, Jason Smith 29; Ramaal Lewis 2-44, Ray Jordan 2-45)
West Indies 104 all out, 35.2 overs (Ramaal Lewis 37; Kagiso Rabada 3-14, Yaseen Valli 2-4, Justin Dill 2-17, Corbin Bosch 2-25)
Man of the match: Justin Dill (South Africa)
England beat UAE by 213 runs (Zayed Cricket Stadium)
England 315-8, 50 overs (Ed Barnard 93, Ben Duckett 83, Harry Finch 49, Jonathan Tattersall 29; Pankaj Prakash 3-72)
UAE 102 all out, 33 overs (Rohit Singh 38, Shivank Vijayakumar 26; Will Rhodes 3-14, Matthew Fisher 2-14, Josh Shaw 2-19)
Man of the match: Ed Barnard (England)
Zimbabwe beat Canada by six wickets (Abu Dhabi Oval 1)
Canada 192-9, 50 overs (Nikhil Dutta 56, Nitish Kumar 36, Armaan Kapoor 28, Keenan Tinto 21; Tinashe Kamunhukamwe 3-17, Herbert Chikomba 2-21)
Zimbabwe 195-4, 43.5 overs (Joylord Gumbie 49, Charles Kunje 42 not out, Tarisai Musakanda 33, Luke Jongwe 25 not out, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe 24)
Man of the match: Tinashe Kamunhukamwe (Zimbabwe)
Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 49 runs (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)
Sri Lanka 275-9, 50 overs (Kusal Mendis 91, Sadeera Samarawickrama 67, Priyamal Perera 37; Kyle Jamieson 4-49)
New Zealand 226-8, 50 overs (Robert O’Donnell 43, Raki Weerasundara 33, Luke Williamson 30, Kyle Jamieson 29 not out, Tim Seifert 29; Lakshan Jayasinghe 2-32, Binura Fernando 2-42, Anuk Fernando 2-65)
Man of the match: Kusal Mendis (Sri Lanka)
Image: Ed Barnard of England
Photograph: 2014 © IDI/Getty Images
