Four Nottinghamshire players – Jake Ball, Jack Blatherwick, Matthew Carter and Tom Moores – have been named in squads for the ECB’s International Pathway this winter.

Ball, who was recently named in the full one-day international party to tour Bangladesh, will then join the England Lions on a training camp in Dubai in November and December.

This will include three 50-over matches against the United Arab Emirates at the ICC Academy and a three-day match against Afghanistan in Sharjah.

“This squad is for the first half of our Lions programme this winter,” explained former England Head Coach Andy Flower who will lead the party.

“Firstly to build on some of the leadership work we did at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst last winter, which leads into a short camp at Loughborough, before we head out to Dubai later in November.

“We are taking 18 players because whereas last winter, and in our Tri-Series this summer, our focus was specifically on white-ball cricket, this year we will be working on both white-ball and red-ball skills.

“Developing skill will remain the highest priority of our work, with a range of specialist coaches to work with the players in the excellent facilities at the ICC Academy, and initially the opportunity to do that away from the different demands of competition.

“However, towards the end of the camp we will play as England Lions in white-ball and red-ball fixtures, and an England Lions squad will then be selected later in December for a tour of Sri Lanka in February and March which will again involve white-ball and red-ball fixtures.”

Blatherwick, Nottinghamshire’s 18-year-old Academy fast bowler, will join Ball and the Lions in Dubai in December as part of a 17 strong Young Lions squad, led by Andy Hurry.

Tom Moores and Matthew Carter, both of whom are set to feature in the Nottinghamshire first team against Somerset this week, have been selected for overseas placements in Wellington and Perth respectively.

Carter, a 20-year-old off-spinner who took ten wickets on first-class debut at Taunton in 2015, will work extensively with Warwickshire’s Kiwi stalwart Jeetan Patel.

Moores will benefit from the expertise of renowned Western Australian batting coach Neil “Noddy” Holder.

David Parsons, the ECB’s Performance Director who leads the men’s International Pathway, said: “We hope that bringing all aspects of the International Pathway together in this form will help to show the range of ways in which the ECB is working with the first-class counties to prepare players for international cricket.

“Our relationships with the counties are stronger and more collaborative than ever, and it is in these winter months that we can really offer additional value to the players, investing in their development by giving them high-quality cricketing experiences overseas – helping to bridge the gap to international cricket.

 “It’s also important for us that the different elements of the Pathway work together. For example this December the Lions and Young Lions will be together in Dubai for a short period, and most of the Lions coaches will stay on to work specifically with the Young Lions later in the month.

 “We’ve already seen players such as Sam Curran, George Garton and Saqib Mahmood advance rapidly from the England Under-19s to the Lions this year, and Sam has now been selected for the Lions training camp while George and Saqib will be on the Pace Programme, and other recent Under-19 internationals such as Mason Crane, Dan Lawrence, Tom Moores and Aneurin Donald will be on Overseas Placements in Sydney or Perth.”

Lions (for training camps at Sandhurst, Loughborough, Dubai, Nov/Dec, including white-ball matches against UAE, three-day match against Afghanistan): Nick Gubbins (Middlesex), Keaton Jennings (Durham), Tom Alsop (Hampshire), Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent), Tom Westley (Essex), Joe Clarke (Worcestershire), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Ollie Rayner (Middlesex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Sam Curran (Surrey), Tom Curran (Surrey), Toby Roland-Jones (Middlesex), Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire), James Fuller (Middlesex), Craig Overton (Somerset), Stuart Meaker (Surrey).

*Tom Helm (Middlesex), Matt Parkinson (Lancashire) and Josh Poysden (Warwickshire) have been invited to join the Lions camp in Dubai.

Young Lions (for training camps in Loughborough, Dubai, Nov/Dec): Max Holden (Middlesex), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), George Bartlett (Somerset), Josh Dell (Worcestershire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Ben Green (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Delray Rawlins (Sussex), Amar Virdi (Surrey), Josh Coughlin (Durham), Will Jacks (Surrey), Euan Woods (Surrey), Liam Banks (Warwickshire), Aaron Beard (Essex), George Panayi (Warwickshire), Jack Blatherwick (Nottinghamshire), George Scrimshaw (Worcestershire).

Pace Programme (to train at counties / Loughborough in 2016, then warm-weather camp at Potchefstroom in January 2017): Paul Coughlin (Durham), George Garton (Sussex), Tom Helm (Middlesex), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Matt Taylor (Gloucestershire).

*Reece Topley (Hampshire) and Jamie Overton (Somerset) may also join the Pace Programme in Potchefstroom as part of their return from injury.

Overseas Placements: Matthew Carter (Nottinghamshire) and Rob Sayer (Leicestershire) – Wellington; Mason Crane (Hampshire) and Matt Critchley (Derbyshire) - Sydney; Dominic Bess (Somerset) - Adelaide; Tom Abell (Somerset), Aneurin Donald (Glamorgan), Dan Lawrence (Essex) and Tom Moores (Nottinghamshire) - Perth.

 

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