Nottinghamshire’s 19-year-old Luke Wood has made it on to the shortlist for the LV= Breakthrough Player award, the accolade that recognises emerging young talent in the domestic four-day game.
The left-arm fast bowler has taken 19 wickets so far this season at an average of 28.15 as well as scoring a 95-ball century against Sussex in just his fifth first-class match.
That LV= County Championship match also saw him take five crucial wickets and score a second innings half-century as Nottinghamshire won by 159 runs.
Jack Leaning (Yorkshire), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Craig Miles (Gloucestershire), Tom Curran (Surrey), and Alex Davies (Lancashire) are also all in the running for the award after catching the attention of both professionals and pundits with some stellar performances in the LV= County Championship so far this season.
The shortlist was selected by an expert panel which included England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Performance Director David Parsons, former England player and LV= ambassador Mark Butcher, as well as former Australian bowler and Yorkshire coach, Jason Gillespie.
“The talent in this country is getting better and better as you can tell by this year’s LV= Breakthrough Player Award shortlist," said Yorkshire and England batsman Joe Root, who was the inaugural winner of the award.
"I think it’s great that the new crop of younger players are starting to come through.The LV= County Championship helped me massively. It’s a breeding ground for international cricket players and I was lucky to learn from some of the best in the system.”
In August, the panel will then select two wildcard picks to be added to the shortlist, giving any players who hit a good run of form a chance of winning the award.
The 2015 LV=CC Breakthrough Player will be decided by the public, who can vote for their winner at www.LV.com/cricket.
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