Michael Atherton’s son Josh De Caires in England Lions…

Michael Atherton’s son Josh De Caires in England Lions squad for first time

Josh De Caires, son of former England captain Michael Atherton, has been called up to an England Lions training camp for the first time.

The 21-year-old is one of 10 players to make the development squad for the first time as 21 have been been for the three-week trip to the United Arab Emirates to work on red-ball skills.

De Caires initially followed in the footsteps of his famous father as a top-order batter but ended the season with Middlesex enjoying unexpected success with his off-spin, claiming seven- and eight-wicket hauls in the LV= Insurance County Championship.

De Caires, whose maternal grandfather Frank De Caires played three Tests for the West Indies in 1930, has impressed enough over his 13 first-class appearances to earn his place on the trip alongside a group of rising domestic talent.

Hampshire quick John Turner, who was denied an England T20 debut by injury in the summer, is another highly-rated newcomer, Rishi Patel's improvement at Leicestershire has not gone unnoticed and slow left-armer Callum Parkinson - twin brother of one-time England spinner Matt - is also recognised.

George Balderson, Shoaib Bashir, James Coles, Tom Lawes, Dan Mousley and Ollie Price are the other first-timers.

Four of the group have already been capped at Test level - Rehan Ahmed, Matthew Fisher, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts - while Brydon Carse has 15 white-ball caps to his name.

England men's performance director, Mo Bobat, said: "In selecting the group, we've carefully considered England's short and long-term needs in Test cricket, particularly with sub-continent challenges in mind.

"It's quite a large group and it's great that we can support player development in this way for what should be a fun camp."