The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Tuesday announced England Lions' Test and ODI squads for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.
"The red-ball tour will begin with a three-day warm-up match in Colombo on January 25 before two four-day Tests against Sri Lanka A in Galle. The white-ball squad will then play three ODIs against Sri Lanka A in Colombo, with the opening match scheduled for February 15," ECB said in a statement.
Four players have been selected in both squads - Tom Abell, Sam Cook, Matt Fisher and Tom Hartley - with a total of 28 players selected across the two formats.
The Test squad includes a strong representation from the England Lions training camp that was in the UAE before Christmas, and includes three Test-capped players - Alex Lees, Hameed Haseeb and Fisher.
The ODI squad provides a return to action for Saqib Mahmood and Brydon Carse after they were both a part of the pace bowler rehab programme during the UAE camp.
The squad also includes Jacob Bethell, Tom Prest and James Rew who were a part of the England Under-19s team that reached the 2022 ICC Under-19s World Cup final in Antigua.
Bethell and Rew, who are both currently playing grade cricket in Australia, will join the England Under-19s squad for this month's two Youth Tests in Australia before joining the Lions ODI squad.
"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. 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," ECB Performance Director, Mo Bobat, said in an official statement.
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," he further added.
The ECB is set to confirm the Head Coach and the captains for each squad before the series, while selection is subject to the attainment of England's minimum fitness standards.
16-Player Lions Test Squad:
Tom Abell, Josh Bohannon, Jack Carson, Sam Cook, Matt Fisher, Nathan Gilchrist, Tom Haines, Haseeb Hameed, Tom Hartley, Jack Haynes, Lyndon James, Alex Lees, Liam Patterson-White, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith and Josh Tongue.
16-Player Lions ODI Squad:
Tom Abell, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Mason Crane, Matt Critchley, Matt Fisher, Sam Hain, Tom Hartley, Tom Lammonby, Saqib Mahmood, Tom Prest, James Rew and Luke Wood.
( With inputs from ANI )
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