Buck returns home

Leicestershire's Nathan Buck flew out from New Zealand towards the end of last week with the England party after an emotional experience in the Under-19 World Cup.

Unfortunately, the group will be remembered as the boys who succeeded in beating India rather than invaders who took the tournament by storm as they had hoped.

England had failed to defeat India in four previous matches - five if the world tournament in Adelaide in 1987 were included - and at least this sequence was ended in Christchurch. It was the unexpected 18-run quarter-final defeat by the West Indies that shattered the players.

Buck opened the bowling in all eight of England's games, including two warm-ups and two play-offs, and he finished as leading wicket-taker with 16, well ahead of his friend and new-ball partner David Payne.

While that haul was cause for satisfaction, the lasting memory for Buck and his team-mates was their failure to overtake the West Indies score of 166 in 36 overs at Rangiora.

In the dressing room afterwards the players sat in silence unable to believe their tournament had finished. A few, including Payne, could not hold back their tears.

Buck said: "We got to such a high and went down to such a low within a couple of days. I just don't know what happened with the West Indies defeat.

“We were all gutted. We sat in the changing room and no one said a word. We couldn't believe what had happened. We did all the work we possibly could, and everyone felt confident going into the game."

Payne, despite outbowling his partner with 4-19, said: "I'm not afraid to cry. I didn't hold back. It was more the shock than anything.

“You play so well against a team like India and then lose to a team like West Indies. You don't take anything for granted and on the day they were the better team, but it was still very disappointing."

Mark Robinson gave a coach's assessment of the defeat, and in truth the players must have realised they did not address a basic fundamental of cricket. "We failed because we weren't able to keep enough wickets in hand," Robinson said.

"If we had batted the overs out, we would have won. It's as simple as that. The brutal world is that if you're a batter you're paid to score runs and if you're a bowler you're paid to take wickets.

“Failing to do that won't get you a long-term career. I felt so sorry for them because their effort and attitude deserved more."

An amusing sideshow through the tournament was a mock elite group set up by Buck, the Warwickshire joker Ateeq Javid and all-rounder Ben Stokes. Called the PIC - a name apparently with no meaning - they purported to set standards, and no one else, including Buck's friend Payne, seemed able to join.

What the PIC initials stood for was left open to speculation -- it could have been Players in Clover after the India victory or Prunes in Custard after the West Indies. It was anybody's guess.

There was a fines kitty among the England party, a system so familiar on any club tour, and the search for victims threw Robinson and Buck into the limelight together.

A similarity in looks was noticed, and Robinson was fined 10 dollars, about £4.50, for "bringing his son with him on tour".

The large undisclosed kitty was not used to fund an end of tour celebration, as might normally happen.

Instead the group decided to donate all of it to the Haiti disaster. That gesture typified the character of these aspiring players, who will remember the trip for the rest of their lives.

Judging from previous ICC junior world cups, seam bowlers from any country very rarely progress to senior international level.

In England's case six tournaments have produced only three seamers who have succeeded... just about.

Liam Plunkett, of Durham, and two all-rounders Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire) and Luke Wright (Sussex) all played in the 2004 event. This is a small group Buck would like to join.

Buck could look at this difficult tournament as a step forward. "I learnt from bowling against batters from round the world," he said. "You learn a lot from different styles, and that could put me in good stead in the future.

“It's been good, but hard work with nine games on the bounce. It's good to get through them all injury-free as well with the support staff around us keeping us fit and strong. It's been a long tour and all the lads have chipped in well."

Buck began to look more fragile with the new ball as the tournament progressed, as though the burden of senior bowler was taking its toll.

In the final match against New Zealand at the Queen Elizabeth II ground, his first spell of three overs went for 24 runs and his return cost another 41 in 6.4 overs, though at least he struck with important wickets.

In fact a glorious yorker, accounting for Harry Boam in the 48th over, seemed to have settled the match, but the New Zealanders squeezed home by two wickets.

Payne was probably thinking of his partner Buck more than anyone when he said: "The boys gave it everything and we couldn't have done much more than we did. I think we've done the country proud."

*Article provided by Charles Randall. Charles is a journalist with 20 years of experience writing for the Daily Telegraph and other national newspapers.