Keaton Jennings will captain the England Lions on their tour of Sri Lanka next year.
The Durham opener scored a superb century on his Test debut against India last week after being called up from the Lions squad in the UAE to the senior squad to replace the injured Haseeb Hameed.
Hameed is also named in the Lions party for two four-day matches against Sri Lanka A, while Ben Duckett – who was dropped after the first two Tests in India – is named in the 50-over series squad.
Jennings is one of 10 players included for both sections – with Tom Alsop, Joe Clarke, Liam Livingstone, Ben Foakes, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Ollie Rayner, Craig Overton and Tom Helm, the 22-year-old Middlesex bowler who was fast-tracked from the Pace Programme to the Lions programme after impressing in Dubai.
Hameed, Nick Gubbins, Tom Westley, Toby Roland-Jones and Jack Leach have been selected for the first part of the tour, with Duckett, Daniel Bell-Drummond, James Fuller and Josh Poysden coming in for the 50-over series.
Poysden, Warwckshire’s 25-year-old leg-spinning all-rounder, impressed, like Helm, when invited to join the Lions training camp in Dubai.
James Whitaker, the national selector who watched the Lions beat Afghanistan in an historic first-class match in Abu Dhabi last week, said: “The Lions play such an important role in bridging the gap between county and international cricket.
“Keaton Jennings impressed everyone on the Lions programme, with his leadership skills as well as his batting – he was named captain for their one-day games against the UAE, and scored a century in the first.
“Haseeb Hameed had also made such a promising start in Test cricket before it was cut short by injury.
“Like Keaton and Ben Duckett, who will be returning to the Lions after playing some brilliant innings for them in the home Tri-Series against Sri Lanka A and Pakistan A last summer, I know he will relish the chance of playing some quality cricket in Sri Lanka in the New Year.”
For first section, including four-day matches v Sri Lanka A: Jennings, Hameed, Gubbins, Alsop, Westley, Clarke, Livingstone, Foakes, S Curran, T Curran, Roland-Jones, Helm, C Overton, Rayner, Jack Leach.
For 50-over series v Sri Lanka A: Jennings, Bell-Drummond, Alsop, Duckett, Clarke, Livingstone, B Foakes, S Curran, T Curran, C Overton, Helm, Fuller, Rayner, Poysden
