England Under-19s 178 for 9 (48 overs; Kadeer Ali 51, GJ Muchall 44, CL White 4-19) lost to Australian Cricket Board Under-19s 181 for 5 (41 overs; White 68*) by five wickets England's Under-19 team lost to their Australian counterparts in the second of their World Cup warm-up matches at Adelaide today - and there were shades of Shane Warne as a teenage Victorian legspinner played the starring role. Cameron White took 4 for 19 off his 10 overs as England collapsed from a decent position, then came in at No. 5 and made an unbeaten 68. For good measure, he is also the captain.

White, aged 18, put England in to bat in a match played at the Henley Oval under Australian domestic rules, which allow 12 players a side (only 11 to field, and 11 to bat). England got off to a dreadful start when their captain, Nicky Peng of Durham, fell for a second-ball duck to the pace of Robert Cassell. But the other opener, Mark Pettini, hung around, making 10 in an hour, and Kadeer Ali and Gordon Muchall both carried on their good form from the one-run victory over South Australia U-19s. Kadeer scored 51 off only 71 balls and Muchall supported him with a more sedate 44 off 93.

White made his first incision when Kyle Hogg, England's matchwinner last Friday, departed first ball. Bilal Shafayat also failed, leaving England 104 for 5, before Samit Patel (31) helped Muchall add 52. From there, it was all White, as Patel, Tim Bresnan and Alex Roberts succumbed to the traditional English weakness against legspin.

The Aussies stumbled too, losing Craig Simmons for 3 and Craig Philipson for 5, both to Yorkshire's new-ball bowler Chris Gilbert. But Shaun Marsh rallied them with a quickfire 34 and although Bresnan nipped in with two wickets to pull them back to 74 for 4, White did the rest with a hard-hitting 68 off 82 balls.

White, who has played a handful of first-class games for Victoria, struck six fours, two more than anyone else in the match, and was supported by George Bailey (23) and Mark Cosgrove (14 not out). Nicky Peng used eight bowlers but none made much difference as the Aussies reached their target with a full seven overs to spare.

England, who are based at the Australian Academy all week, have a chance to get their own back when the teams meet again tomorrow and on Friday. They leave on Sunday for Christchurch, New Zealand, where the ICC Under-19 World Cup takes place from Jan 19 to Feb 9.

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