Flintoff, 16, was a last-minute inclusion in the Lions’ tour to South Africa earlier this month – his father’s first tour as head coach – where he played in the only tour match against a CSA Invitational XI in Cape Town. Took part in. 4 runs from three balls in his only innings.
His astonishing rise in inclusions continued, starting with his untimely performances for the Lancashire Second XI in April, continuing through his multi-format debut for the England under-19 teams against Sri Lanka in July, and This resulted in his first professional contract with Lancashire. And then his first-class debut.
England head coach Brendon McCullum had raised the possibility of Bashir being included in the Lions squad in October, given his recent performances in Pakistan and New Zealand, where he took 17 wickets at an average of 50.58 in six Test matches, which was his best. Is in the game. Progress did not occur as rapidly as England had hoped.
“For the Bash, the opportunity to get some experience in those conditions could be really important for us,” McCullum said at the conclusion of the Pakistan tour in October. “That’s the beauty of the Lions programme, you have the opportunity to introduce people to some cricket. With Freddie now in charge of the Lions, he has the same approach to the game as me, so there will be consistency in the message and “It’s something we have to look at.”
Leicestershire’s 20-year-old left-hander Josh Hull, who made an unexpected Test debut against Sri Lanka in September, has not been included in the main squad but will travel to Australia as he continues his rehabilitation from a quad injury.
Among the batsmen, Alex Davis has been rewarded for a strong season with Warwickshire, scoring four centuries in his first year as captain, while Somerset wicketkeeper-batsman James Reeve also features.
England Men’s performance director, Ed Barney, said: “We have rewarded players who have proven themselves at this level and who have significant potential. Matches and tours to Australia are always important and we will find ourselves coming up against quality opponents. The tour allows us to evaluate performance, refine preparations and continue to work with some of the best emerging talent in the country.
“I’m also pleased to see Josh Tongue return to competitive cricket. Josh has had a challenging time with injuries, but he is making good progress and this tour will benefit him as he continues to step up his preparation. Us Hopefully this will be a prosperous and successful start to his impressive return to cricket in 2025.”
Shaft: Sonny Baker (Hampshire), Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Pat Brown (Derbyshire), James Coles (Sussex), Sam Cooke (Essex), Alex Davis (Warwickshire), Rocky Flintoff (Lancashire), Tom Hartley (Lancashire), Tom Laws. (Surrey), Freddy McCann (Nottinghamshire), Ben McKinney (Durham), James Reeve (Somerset), Hamza Shaikh (Warwickshire), Mitch Stanley (Lancashire), Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire), John Turner (Hampshire).
fixtures: January 14-17 – CA XI v Lions, Shaw Park (Brisbane), January 22-25 – CA XI v Lions, Allan Border Field (Brisbane), January 30-February 2, Australia A v England Lions, Cricket Central (Sydney) .
Leave a Reply