Today the ECB have named an eighteen-man Young Lions squad to travel to Stellenbosch in South Africa next month for a training camp ahead of England's series in South Africa next January and February.
The squad includes three stars of the Middlesex EPG programme, James Isbell, Aaryan Sawant and Naavya Sharma, who will each be experiencing their first overseas action with the England Under 19s.
Both Isbell and Sharma both made it into the England Under 19 set-up this summer, with Isbell making two U19 ODI appearances against Ireland at Loughborough in September, whilst Sharma featured in England's Test series against Sri Lanka in July, making appearances at both Wormsley and Cheltenham.
Both made an immediate impression with the three Lions on their chest, with Isbell hitting scores of 45 not out and 77 in his two appearances this summer, whilst Sharma finished the Sri Lanka series as England's leading wicket-taker, with nine wickets in two games, including superb figures of 5 for 44 in the second Test.
For Sawant, this will be his first action with the England Under 19s after another fine season with the Middlesex EPG squads and performing admirably for the Club's Second Eleven, including a magnificent unbeaten knock of 177 in the final Second Eleven Championship match of the season to secure victory against Yorkshire.
England Men U19s Head Coach, Mike Yardy, said:
“It’s an exciting winter for this group of players. Firstly, a training camp to develop individual skills and be very clear on a style of play. This is then followed by a competitive series versus South Africa in both white and red ball cricket."
The England Young Lions eighteen-man training squad is as follows:
