Batter Alex Lees has been named in the England Lions squad for the tour of Sri Lanka, three months after being dropped from the Test side.
Lees opened the batting alongside Zak Crawley during last year’s West Indies tour and throughout the home summer, but averages less than 24 in ten Tests. He was left off England’s central contracts list in October and was not involved in either the Lions training camp in the UAE or the Test series victory in Pakistan before Christmas.
Ben Duckett, recalled at the Durham batter’s expense, excelled in Pakistan and will keep his place for the upcoming tour of New Zealand but Lees’ Lions selection suggests he remains on England’s radar.
The 29-year-old is one of three Test-capped players - along with seamer Matt Fisher and fellow opener Haseeb Hameed - in a 16-man red-ball squad that will play two four-day Tests against Sri Lanka A starting at the end of this month.
The core of the squad remains the same as the group from the UAE camp, though Matthew Potts and Dan Lawrence are not involved having earned Test recalls for New Zealand, while teenage spinner Rehan Ahmed is set to play in the UAE’s T20 franchise league ahead of a possible senior white-ball call-up for the Bangladesh tour in March.
A separate 16-strong white-ball Lions squad for three ODIs in Colombo has also been announced, with England bowlers Brydon Carse and Saqib Mahmood set for competitive returns after taking part in the UAE training camp as part of their injury rehab.
Only four players - Tom Abell, Sam Cook, Tom Hartley and Fisher - have been named in both red- and white-ball squads and the latter has a strong developmental feel, with Jacob Bethell, Tom Prest and James Rew included after helping England’s U19s reach last year’s World Cup final.
Several members of the white-ball party will join up with the Lions after playing franchise cricket in either the UAE or the new SA20 in South Africa, with both tournaments beginning later this month.
“This is a really exciting opportunity to expose players to the challenges of playing A-team cricket in the sub-continent, which will be fantastic for their development,” said Mo Bobat, the ECB’s performance director.
“The series also provides us with the chance to observe the players ahead of this year’s World Cup as well as next winter’s Test series in India.
“The squads have been selected with careful consideration of each player’s individual programme. We’ve worked closely with the counties to understand the players’ best interests as we map their development opportunities. In some cases that includes enabling players to play in domestic franchise cricket.
“The ODI squad takes into account the strength in depth that we have across a number of key roles in our England Men’s white-ball teams and many of the players will join us directly from cricket they’ve been playing elsewhere, in Australia, South Africa or the UAE.
“After a hugely exciting and successful first half of the winter for our Test and Twenty20 teams, I am sure the Lions players will be suitably motivated to make the most of this opportunity.”
England Lions Test squad
Tom Abell (Somerset), Josh Bohannon (Lancashire), Jack Carson (Sussex), Sam Cook (Essex), Matt Fisher (Yorkshire), Nathan Gilchrist (Kent), Tom Haines (Sussex), Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire), Tom Hartley (Lancashire), Jack Haynes (Worcestershire), Lyndon James (Nottinghamshire), Alex Lees (Durham), Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire), Ollie Robinson (Durham), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Josh Tongue (Worcestershire).
England Lions ODI squad
Tom Abell (Somerset), Tom Banton (Somerset), Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Cook (Essex), Jordan Cox (Kent), Mason Crane (Hampshire), Matt Critchley (Essex), Matt Fisher (Yorkshire), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Tom Hartley (Lancashire), Tom Lammonby (Somerset), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Tom Prest (Hampshire), James Rew (Somerset), Luke Wood (Lancashire).
