Lancashire pair in contention for top accolade
LANCASHIRE have two players among the initial list of six contenders to be crowned Specsavers One to Watch for the summer of 2016.
Haseeb Hameed and Liam Livingstone have both been nominated by a panel of coaches and journalists, on the basis of their contribution to Lancashire’s successful return to Division One in the County Championship this season.
Hameed, an opening batsman from Bolton, is the youngest player on the list, having played for England U19s last season, while Livingstone is one of two nominees to have made their debuts for England Lions in their recent Tri-Series success, with Northamptonshire’s Ben Duckett.
They are joined by Nick Gubbins, who began the latest round of fixtures as the leading run-scorer for Division One leaders Middlesex.
There is an even spread of players across the two tiers with Duckett one of three players from Division Two on the shortlist. He is joined by Jamie Porter, whose wickets have fired Essex to the top of the table, and Shiv Thakor, who has made an impressive allround contribution for Derbyshire.
Two more players will be added to the list in September, allowing a number of other strong contenders more time to press their claims – and then it will be over to county cricket fans to choose the winner, through a vote hosted by ecb.co.uk.
Contenders had to be 23 or under at the start of the County Championship season in April, and not to have represented either England or England Lions at that point.
Somerset opener Tom Abell won the equivalent award last season – after missing out on the original six-man shortlist, and being added in September.
The other previous winners were Alex Lees in 2014), Rory Burns the year before, and Joe Root won the award in 2012. One to Watch – shortlist: Ben Duckett (Northants, 21) Nick Gubbins (Middlesex, 22) Haseeb Hameed (Lancashire, 19) Liam Livingstone (Lancashire, 23) Jamie Porter (Essex, 23) Shiv Thakor (Derbyshire, 22)