Nottinghamshire wicketkeeper Tom Moores has been selected by England for the forthcoming ICC Under-19s World Cup in Bangladesh.
The 19-year-old, who has been a feature in the squad since last summer, enjoyed a training session with the full England team during the recent trip to the Unite Arab Emirates.
Moores averaged 37.66 with the bat in Second XI Championship cricket in 2015, setting up victory over Middlesex in the final of the competition with a season’s high of 107.
Hampshire off-spinner Brad Taylor has been named captain of the side and is joined by his county team-mate Mason Crane and several other players with senior experience for the 50-over tournament, which starts on January 26.
Dan Lawrence of Essex will be Taylor’s vice-captain and the squad also includes the Durham batsman Jack Burnham, Somerset wicketkeeper Ryan Davies, Lancashire fast bowler Saqib Mahmood and Surrey allrounder Sam Curran – all of whom made their county debuts in 2015, Davies for Kent and Curran taking 42 wickets in 23 appearances for Surrey in all competitions.
Aneurin Donald, who made his Glamorgan debut in 2014 and captained the Under-19s in their Royal London One-Day Series against Australia last summer, is recalled after missing the recent triangular tournament against India and Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Somerset have three players in the squad with Davies joined by Ben Green and George Bartlett, who are still at school at Exeter and Millfield respectively.
David Graveney OBE, the National Performance Manager and chairman of selectors, said: “We have been building towards this competition for some time and I think we’re a lot further down the road than we were before the last Under-19s World Cup in Dubai two years ago. England finished third in that tournament which was a fine achievement and there is no reason why this squad could not do as well or even better than that.
“The team have spent the last three weeks in Sri Lanka and although the results were disappointing, it was a valuable learning experience against two very talented teams in conditions similar to those we expect to find in Bangladesh.”
After a Christmas break, the squad will leave for a week of practice in Dubai on January 14, including a warm-up match against South Africa on January 18, before flying on to Bangladesh two days later.
England will open their campaign against Fiji in Chittagong on January 27, with further group games against West Indies and Zimbabwe.
This will be the 11th running of the tournament since it began in 1988, with England’s sole win coming 10 years later when a team captained by Owais Shah and including Graeme Swann and Rob Key beat New Zealand in the final in Johannesburg.
England squad for ICC Under-19 World Cup, Bangladesh, January 26 – February 14
George Bartlett - Somerset
Jack Burnham - Durham
Mason Crane - Hampshire
Sam Curran - Surrey
Ryan Davies - Somerset
Aneurin Donald - Glamorgan
George Garton - Sussex
Ben Green - Somerset
Max Holden - Middlesex
Dan Lawrence (Vice Captain) - Essex
Saqib Mahmood - Lancashire
Tom Moores - Nottinghamshire
Brad Taylor (Captain) - Hampshire
Callum Taylor - Essex
Jared Warner - Yorkshire
The 2015 season has seen dramatic last-gasp four day victories, thrilling limited-overs contests and an historic Investec Ashes Test, all in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge.
Next season, we’d wager, will be no less enthralling and frankly we’d hate for you to miss out.