Max Holden, Will Jacks and Ben Green all hit half centuries as England Under-19s warmed up for their forthcoming series against India by starting a two-day game against the Unicorns in Loughborough.

Holden, who will again lead the team in the two four-day matches against the Indians in Chesterfield and Worcester before handing on to Yorkshire’s Harry Brook for the Royal London One-Day Series, set the tone with 64 from 75 balls after winning the toss and choosing to bat.

The left-hander, who has made two Championship centuries for Northamptonshire this summer on an extended loan spell from Middlesex, saw off the new-ball spell from the former Warwickshire seamer Recardo Gordon and Staffordshire’s Mitchell Spencer, who has recently completed a trial spell at Edgbaston.

It was the Cumberland left-arm spinner Toby Bulcock who broke an opening stand of 68 when he had Brook lbw for 25, and Holden fell in similar fashion six overs later.

Somerset’s George Bartlett (19) and Warwickshire’s Liam Banks (30) both made decent starts before falling to the former Derbyshire leg-spinner Peter Burgoyne, who now plays for Herefordshire.

Then Green, an all-rounder from Devon who made his T20 debut for Somerset last season, joined Jacks to add 79 in 12 overs for the fifth wicket.

Jacks, a tall right-hander from Surrey, hit 63 from 62 balls with six fours and two sixes until he was bowled by Spencer, while Green ended with 56 from 48 balls with four fours and three sixes when Holden declared on 270 for seven.

Worcestershire’s Josh Tongue and Warwickshire’s Henry Brookes bowled tidy new ball spells without making a breakthrough.

But Durham all-rounder Matt Potts struck in his second over, bowling Wiltshire opener Edward Kilbee, and claimed a second wicket when he had Norfolk’s Sam Arthurton caught behind by Kent’s Oli Robinson.

Green then completed a good day when he had the Unicorns captain Chris Whittock lbw, and the Minor Counties representative team will resume tomorrow on 136 for three.

The most spectacular performance of the day at Loughborough University came on the Brockington pitch, where the Indians were warming up for the “Tests”.

They also batted first, but had all sorts of trouble against Jack Plom, a tall 17-year-old fast bowler from the Shenfield club who is on the Essex Academy.

Plom fired out Prithvi Shaw with his first ball, then took two more in the space of three deliveries in his fourth over – including highly-rated Indian opener Himanshu Rana.

He ended with six for 25 from 7.5 overs – and was presented with the match ball in the dressing room afterwards by Chris Taylor, the England fielding lead who has taken charge of the Invitational XI in this match.

There was one wicket each for Plom’s Essex team-mate Ben Allison and the Somerset all-rounder Tom Lammonby before the Indian innings closed on 87 for eight, the teams having agreed to make the most of the two days available.

That handed a chance to the Invitational XI batsmen and Harisson Ward, an opening batsman from Sussex, capitalised by making 69 from 145 balls, a fine effort against a high-calibre India attack in gloomy conditions which helped their seam bowlers.

Surrey’s Ryan Patel, one of three members of the England Under-19 four-day squad playing for the Invitational XI with Leicestershire wicketkeeper Harry Swindells – who took three catches - and Nottinghamshire spinner Liam Patterson-White, played the leading role in an opening stand of 48, hitting 32 from 29 balls with five fours.

Lammonby joined Ward to hit 41 in a third-wicket stand of 77, and his Somerset team-mate Fin Trenouth, who is captaining the Invitational XI, ended the day unbeaten on 21 including a huge straight six.