England Lions: Ben Foakes' 89 boosts victory bid against Afghanistan
Friday 9 December 2016 15:42, UK
Ben Foakes scored an unbeaten 89 before the Curran brothers made early inroads to leave England Lions in a strong position against Afghanistan.
The Lions quickly polished off the Afghanistan tail at the start of day three in Abu Dhabi but could only post 210 in their second innings as 18-year-old Rashid Khan took 8-74 to finish with match figures of 12-122.
England's second string needed a strong start defending a target of 217 and Surrey's Tom and Sam Curran delivered to reduce Afghanistan to 18-3 at stumps.
Afghanistan had earlier failed to add to their overnight 273-9 as captain Toby Roland-Jones took his sixth wicket to give the Lions a six-run lead on first innings.
Nick Gubbins and Tom Westley guided the Lions to 54-1 but they collapsed to 152-7 before Foakes added an 89 to his first-innings 70 to leave Afghanistan with a testing chase.
Tom Curran claimed two wickets in three balls and brother Sam then dismissed Afsar Zazai in the final over to put the Lions in control heading into the final day.
