James Vince set to lead England Lions this summer
JAMES Vince will captain an experienced England Lions squad in three one-day matches against South Africa A next month.
The Lions will clash with the tourists at Trent Bridge on June 1 before travelling to Northampton on June 3 and June 5 while the England senior team is in Champions Trophy action.
Captain Vince is one of four players included who have made ODI appearances in the last eight months with Ben Duckett, Steven Finn and Liam Dawson all in the Lions’ 13-man squad.
Dawid Malan is also named having been a non-playing member of England’s T20 squad last summer, while six of the remaining eight players toured Sri Lanka with the Lions in the winter.
The two who didn’t – Dan Lawrence and George Garton – both playe din the U19 World Cup last year though Sussex bowler Garton did make a Lions debut in the tri-series against Pakistan A and Sri Lanka A last summer.
James Whitaker, the national selector, said: “We wanted to select a strong and experienced Lions squad for this series, as it coincides with the early stages of the ICC Champions Trophy, and therefore provides us with the opportunity to keep our standby players in white-ball action.
“The quality of the squad we have selected reflects well on the strength in depth we now have in 50-over cricket which has emerged through the county game. All the players in this squad will have the 2019 World Cup in their sights, and playing for the Lions offers them the platform to show what they can do.
“In addition to his considerable captaincy experience with Hampshire, James Vince has led the Lions before, to an excellent series victory against South Africa A in early 2015 and again when they played 50-over and T20 series against Pakistan A in Dubai in the winter of 201516 - and he also impressed in captaining the South to victory in the North-South Series earlier this year. He is a good tactical reader of the game.
“We were also mindful in selecting this squad that the series coincides with an important round of matches in the Specsavers County Championship. As ever we are grateful to the counties for their support, and for appreciating the importance of the Lions programme in developing players for international cricket.”
The Lions also play a four-day game against South Africa A at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence from June 21-24, and then a threeday match against the senior South Africa tourists in Worcester from June 29 – July 1, with squads for those matches to be named next month.