Kent duo Adam Ball and Daniel Bell-Drummond will miss the start of the county season after being called up for the England Under 19’s squad.
The England selectors today announced a 15-man England Under 19 squad for their forthcoming tour of Australia where they will take on the host country, India and New Zealand in a quadrangular One-Day Series.
Kent all-rounder Adam Ball has been named as captain and the tour party features 13 members of the squad which recently completed a seven-match One-Day series in Bangladesh.
Bell-Drummond will once again be away with England Under 19’s and his absence along with Ball will leave Kent short of numbers for the new season with James Tredwell away with the full England squad in Sri Lanka, whilst all-rounder Azhar Mahmood will be playing in the Indian Premier League.
Essex fast bowler Reece Topley and Leicestershire batsman Shiv Thakor who missed the Bangladesh tour both return to the squad which is due to arrive in Australia in early April following a pre-tournament training camp at the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough.
England Development Programme Head Coach Tim Boon said: “This tournament will be a fantastic opportunity for all the players to gain experience of Australian conditions and test themselves against quality opposition ahead of the ICC’s Under 19 World Cup – which will also be held in Australia later this summer. “
England’s full itinerary for the tournament which will be staged in Townsville, Queensland is detailed below.
England U19 Squad for Quadrangular Tournament
Adam Ball, Captain (Kent) Mo Abid (Lancashire) Shozair Ali (Warwickshire) Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent) Ben Foakes (Essex) Brett Hutton (Nottinghamshire) Aneesh Kapil (Worcestershire) Sam Kelsall (Nottinghamshire) Jack Leaning (Yorkshire) Craig Overton (Somerset) Jamie Overton (Somerset) Rammy Singh (Durham) Shiv Thakor (Leicestershire) Reece Topley (Essex) Sam Wood (Nottinghamshire)
Itinerary:
Monday 2 April – Arrive in Australia
Thurs 5 April – Australia v England
Sat 7 April – England v New Zealand
Mon 9 April – England v India
Fri 13 April – Semi-finals
Sunday 15 April – Final
Picture supplied by Saran Ansell. To see more of Sarah’s pictures, visit www.sarahcanterbury.com