COLAC cricket export Meyrick Buchanan hopes to reverse a lean run of batting form for Australia heading into this year’s under-19 World Cup.

Australia clashes with traditional rival England tomorrow at Townsville’s Tony Ireland Stadium in the opening game of the under-19 World Cup.

Buchanan has averaged 15.8 runs in five warm-up games for Australia.

He scored 13 during Australia’s defeat of Scotland this week and hit 21 off 35 balls against the West Indies.

Buchanan’s highest score was 28 in a three-game series against Pakistan which wrapped up last week.

Australian under-19 cricket coach Stuart Law said Buchanan needed to convert his starts into bigger scores.

“At this stage Meyrick is making poor decisions at crucial times,” Law said.

“He gets in and gets his momentum going forward with his innings, then he decides to take one risky shot too many,” he said.

“We are talking to him and he’s got to start understanding he can’t afford to do that.

“It doesn’t matter what level of cricket you’re playing, once you get in you’ve got to value your wicket.”

Law said Buchanan was an integral part of Australia’s batting line-up.

“He’s doing everything he can to get that right, he’s an important part of our middle order and he’s an opening option for us as well,” he said.

“He needs to eradicate those lapses in concentration and as soon as he does that, the big scores will come.”

Australia has two wins from its five warm-up games and Law said the team needed to lift its intensity against England tomorrow.

“The boys have to understand that the work we’ve done doesn’t go out the window when we get to game day,” Law said.

“They have to implement everything they’ve learnt, everything they’ve been told,”

he said.

“England are a well-drilled side and they’re coming out of their season as well; they’ve been playing cricket quite consistently and it’s going to be a tough match.”

Australia’s other two pool games are against World Cup qualifiers Nepal and Ireland.

The knock-out stage of the tournament starts next weekend with the final on August 26.