Samit Patel and James Taylor have been included in the 13-man England Lions squad to face Australia A in two four-day fixtures on 7^th August at Old Trafford and the 14^th August at Edgbaston.

Alex Hales has been left out of the squad and will be available for Nottinghamshire's LV= County Championship match against Somerset at Taunton.

“The Lions team and England Performance Programme plays an important role in the development of future England players and this fixture will present an opportunity for our players to show us that they are capable of representing England at Test level in the future," said National Selector Geoff Miller.

“We expect Australia A to provide tough opposition and look forward to seeing how some of our most talented players outside the Test squad perform in these two matches.”

England Lions squad
Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Matt Coles (Kent)
Nick Compton (Somerset)
James Harris (Glamorgan)
Simon Kerrigan (Lancashire)
Craig Kieswetter (WK) (Somerset)
Stuart Meaker (Surrey)
Eoin Morgan  (Captain) (Middlesex)
Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
James Taylor (Nottinghamshire)
James Tredwell (Kent)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)