England Lions have named five teenagers in their squad to face Sri Lanka in a four-day warm-up match for their Test tour of England.
The match will be played at New Road in Worcestershire, and will begin on August 14. The 12-man squad features four players from last month's U19 series' between England and Sri Lanka, which England won both the Youth Test series and ODI series.
As well as the four teenagers from that series, 19-year-old quick Josh Hull has also been included in the playing series following the competition of his stint in The Hundred. Here's all you need to know about the influx of young stars into the Lions squad.
Farhan Ahmed
Following older brother Rehan's rapid ascension to international honours aged just 18, his younger brother Farhan is hot on his heels. Farhan was selected for the men's U19 World Cup earlier this year, aged just 15-years-old at the time. He took five wickets in four matches in the tournament with his right-arm off-breaks, turning the ball the other way to his older brother.
Since then, Farhan has signed his first professional contract with Nottinghamshire, and represented England U19s again against Sri Lanka. He took 4-59 in the final innings of the match to secure England a huge win. He made his senior professional debut for Nottinghamshire against Lancashire in July, taking 1-69 in the One Day Cup.
Eddie Jack
Seam-bowling allrounder Eddie Jack already has 13 professional games under his belt at the age of 18. At 6ft 4in tall, he's a quick right-armer who bats left-handed for Hampshire at No.8 or 9. After joining the Hampshire Academy in 2022, he impressed during last year's One Day Cup, when he took three wickets against Yorkshire.
As well as taking four wickets in the 2024 U19 World Cup, he also played in the U19 Ashes series last year, and took 4-62 in the first Test. He also went on the U19 quadrangular tour of India late last year, and was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament.
Ben McKinney
McKinney is the most experienced in the professional game of all the young players England have selected. He made his first-class debut for Durham against Sussex in 2023, batting at No.3 and scoring 35 in the first innings. He captained the England U19 side on their tour of Australia in the 2022-23 winter aged 17, scoring 70 off 45 in the first Test which England won by 24 runs. As well as being a left-handed top order batter, he also bowls part-time right-arm off breaks.
In the One Day cup last month, McKinney made a career-best 80 off 86 balls for Durham, batting at three in an innings where all of the rest of the top four were out for ducks, and only three players made it into double figures.
Josh Hull
Hull is the latest left-arm quick England have marked-out for future success. At 6ft 7in tall, he's been clocked close to 90mph on the domestic circuit, and will turn 20 later this month. He made his debut for Leicestershire last year in the County Championship and took a wicket with his fourth ball.
He also impressed in Leicestershire's memorable One Day Cup final win in 2023, bowling the final over of the match and defending eight runs. Hull's name has been mentioned by Rob Key as one to watch for the future. He played two Hundred games this year as a wildcard picked up by Manchester Originals, but was expensive in both and did not take a wicket.
Hamza Shaikh
Warwickshire's Hamza Shaikh made his List A debut in 2022 aged just 16. He opened the batting and scored 25 off 43, having come through Warwickshire's Academy since the age of 10. That match came weeks after he was 12th man for the senior England team in their record-breaking Test match against India.
As well as playing in the 2024 U19 Men's Cricket World Cup, he also captained the side last month in their Test series against Sri Lanka. He scored 107 off 211 balls in the match, including a 121-run stand with Rocky Flintoff.
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