The Under-19 teams of India and Pakistan came together on Thursday for a touch of youthful diplomacy after their match in the ICC World Cup at Lincoln near Christchurch.

The senior players from the two nations have been prevented from meeting on the field recently as the traditional antipathy and mistrust between their respective politicians has spilled on to the cricketing arena.

After the match, won by Pakistan, both sides got together and embraced, said the cricket website Cricinfo.

There wasn't a politician in sight as the two sets of teenagers and

their management teams congratulated each other for a fine match.

The getting together of the two sides after an exciting match was a statement for the moment with a view to the future, said Cricinfo.

When cricketing ties between the two countries get back to normal, the two Under-19 teams could meet again as full internationals.

Pakistan captain Salman Butt, who scored an unbeaten 85, summed it up when he said the players taking part in the match wanted to set aside the problems associated with the Kashmir border tensions.

"We are not at the border, we are not at the war," Butt was quoted as saying.

"We are going to play at the next level of the game against each other. We want to play in a brotherly manner."

Pakistan manager Brigadier

Javed Tipu said he had approached the Indian management to see if the representatives of both teams would get together to point out that despite whatever else might be happening, they were there to play cricket and the game should be played in the best traditions.

Both management spoke to their players and the get-together was a formality.

Brigadier Tipu said: "Cricket should be kept away from politics, but unfortunately we have not been able to do that. "We hope and pray that today's match is the beginning of coming back to normal cricket relations between our two countries."

While Pakistan won the match it was not enough to get them into the semifinals.

India had already booked their place in the last four.