The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today announced a 16-strong England under-19s touring party to play a tri-series against Sri Lanka and India under-19s in Colombo before Christmas, which includes Middlesex's Max Holden.
Hampshire’s off-spinning all-rounder Brad Taylor will lead the squad, which includes left-arm seamer and middle-order batsman, Sam Curran. Curran’s selection comes after a noteworthy maiden summer for Surrey, which included a five wicket haul on First Class debut against Kent, and over 20 further first team appearances, including the Royal London One-Day Cup final at Lord’s on Saturday.
The 17-year-old also has an average of over 35 with the bat after five Championship matches, and has taken 22 wickets across the Royal London One-Day Cup and NatWest T20 Blast competitions this summer.
Also in line to make his England under-19 debut is 17-year-old Somerset top-order batsman George Bartlett. Bartlett’s selection is reward for a string of excellent performances for the South West in the England Development Programme (EDP) under-17s Super 4s competition last month, when he amassed 237 runs across four matches, at an average of nearly 60.
With the exception of Bartlett and Curran, the rest of the squad all featured for England under-19s in the drawn Royal London One-Day series and standalone four-day match against Australia under-19s this summer.
Essex’s Dan Lawrence will be hoping to continue his superb form with the bat during the one-day series, after finishing as the leading run scorer from both sides (265 runs) including two match-winning centuries.
England Development Programme Chairman of Selectors, David Graveney, said: “The tour to Sri Lanka before Christmas represents the last chance for the players to impress ahead of the final selection of the squad for the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in January and February next year. We have selected a strong squad based on performances against Australia under-19s this summer, alongside giving opportunities to a couple of players who haven’t featured at this level before. It is now down to them to show that they deserve to be named in the World Cup squad when that is announced towards the end of December.
“The tri-series involving Sri Lanka and India under-19s will present a tough challenge, and it is a further learning opportunity for all the players in sub-continent conditions. It should be a great tour and a precursor to what they can expect in Bangladesh during the World Cup next year.”
In addition to the England under-19s touring party for Sri Lanka, the ECB has also today announced a 10-strong group of players to take part in a series of EDP training camps this winter at the National Cricket Performance Centre (NCPC) in Loughborough. Included in the group is Nottinghamshire wicket-keeper batsman Tom Keast. Keast played a starring role in the EDP under-17s Super 4s tournament this summer, helping the Midlands to triumph in the final against the North, by top scoring with 73.
Graveney added: “The ten players selected to take part in the additional EDP camps this winter have been identified as having a lot of potential, based on their performances for their counties and during the EDP under-17s Super 4s competition this summer. The short camps will now give them an insight into what it takes to be involved with the EDP and what it is like to train in a high performance environment at the NCPC in Loughborough.”
England Under-19 squad to play tri-series in Sri Lanka:
George Bartlett: Somerset, Hugh Bernard: Kent, Jack Burnham: Durham, Mason Crane: Hampshire, Sam Curran: Surrey, Ryan Davies: Kent, Ben Green: Somerset, Haseeb Hameed: Lancashire, Adam Hickey: Durham, Max Holden: Middlesex, Dan Lawrence: Essex, Saqib Mahmood: Lancashire ,Tom Moores: Nottinghamshire, Brad Taylor (captain): Hampshire, Callum Taylor: Essex, Jared Warner: Yorkshire.
England Under-19 winter touring schedule 2015-2016:
England Development Programme winter training squad 2015-2016:
Ed Barnes: Yorkshire, Aaron Beard: Essex, Josh Dell: Worcestershire, Tom Haines: Sussex, Tom Keast: Nottinghamshire, Felix Organ: Hampshire, George Panayi: Warwickshire, Ollie Pope: Surrey, Josh Tongue: Worcestershire, Ben Twohig: Worcestershire.
