Teen takes on England

BATTING prodigy Mackenzie Harvey will be the only teenager in Australia who returns to school next month with a story about taking on England.

Harvey, 17, who played senior club cricket at 14, will be part of the Cricket Australia XI to play against England in a one-day warm-up game ahead of the ODI series opener in Melbourne on Sunday.

Harvey, who doesn’t turn 18 until September, is soaking up every second of his time in the squad captained by dumped Test opener Matt Renshaw and coached by former Test keeper Brad Haddin.

“It’s going to be a great experience for me” Harvey said. “It’s a massive step up, even in training, but just seeing how relaxed the experienced guys are, it’s helped me enjoy myself.”

Harvey earned his spot after a stunning century for an Australian under-19 team against Pakistan in December, coming in at 2-9, and 285 runs in the under-19 national championships in a CA team coached by Ryan Harris.