ABU DHABI — On a day of upsets, England Lions got the better of England in a thriller which went down the wire in a warm-up game at the Shaikh Zayed International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Requiring eight runs from two balls, opener and southpaw Michael Lumb, who had to retire hurt earlier, came back and cracked two consecutive boundaries off the last two balls, to seal the win.
Lumb dispatched a Luke Wright delivery down the leg side and smashed the last ball to the mid wicket boundary. Lumb remained unbeaten on 58.
Earlier, England huffed and puffed before making 157 for the loss of six wickets in their 20 overs with Luke Wright top scoring with an unbeaten 42. He clubbed five boundaries and two sixes in his 21-ball knock. Wicketkeeper-batsman Matt Prior made 33 from 22 balls with four boundaries and a six, while Kevin Pietersen scored 26 from 30 balls with three boundaries. Jonathan Trott made 24.
Leg spinner Adil Rashid took three for 22, while pacer Steven Finn picked up two wickets.
In reply, England Lions’ Michael Lumb scored an unbeaten 58 from 35 balls with eight boundaries and two sixes, while Craig Kieswetter, who plays for Somerset and has played for the South Africa Under 19s, top scored with 81 from 66 balls with nine boundaries and two sixes. Left-arm pacer Ryan Sidebottom took two wickets for 30, while Luke Wright picked up two for 41.