This week four of Middlesex's young stars who successfully lifted the ECB Under 17's National Cup earlier this season will take their places in the annual England Super 4's tournament in Loughborough, as the England selectors have their chance to take a closer look at the country's next crop of young talent.
Middlesex will have four representatives playing in the London and East side, including Savin Perera, Luke Hollman, Jack Davies and Charlie Scott, who will compete against the best of the young talent from the North, the South West and the Midlands groups.
The tournament kicked off yesterday with a thrilling tie between the London and East side and the North, which ended in a tie, although not before Middlesex's Jack Davies and Savin Perera had showed their quality by both hitting half centuries for their side. Perera made 58 from 75 balls and Davies 58 from 32 balls, as London and East posted 277 for 8 in their 50 overs. In reply, the North had Ed Fluck of Cheshire to thank for keeping them in the game, as the contest finished as a nail-biting tie.
The Super-4s week has a different structure this year, where the teams will again play each other in round robin 50-over matches over the first three days of competition, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. But instead of a Finals Day on the Saturday, the champions will be determined by the final placings in the league table, leaving Saturday clear for a separate T20 competition.
James Taylor, the former Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and England batsman, spoke to the players when they gathered in Loughborough on Monday, and the cricket will be watched by a number of England's lead coaches as well as Young Lions selectors and scouts, raising the stakes for the 56 young players involved.
Middlesex Cricket wishes Savin, Luke, Jack and Charlie all the best of luck over the week's competition.
