Four Somerset players and two Ollie Robinsons named in England Lions squads for Australia tour

England have named a 23-strong party for one-day and four-day games in Australia in February, including recent Test debutants Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley

England have announced a 23-strong squad for a Lions tour of Australia in the new year, where the side is set to be led by Gloucestershire coach Richard Dawson.

The Lions will play against Cricket Australia and New South Wales XIs in five one-day matches in February, before then playing each side in a four-day game either side of a floodlit pink-ball match against Australia A at the MCG, starting February 22.

Seven players have been named to the squads for both portions of the series, including the Somerset trio of Dom Bess, Lewis Gregory and Craig Overton. They will be joined by county captain Tom Abell for the white-ball matches.

Elsewhere, uncapped young batsmen Sam Hain, James Bracey and Dan Lawrence will all be available for the entire tour, and 32-year-old seamer Richard Gleeson is also rewarded with two selections for his strong first season with Lancashire.

Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley, who both impressed in Lions colours this summer before making their Test debuts during England's recent tour of New Zealand, will join the squad in Australia upon the conclusion of England's four-match World Test Championship series in South Africa.

In the four-day matches, Lancashire opener Keaton Jennings will bid for a place on England's Test tour of Sri Lanka in March after 12 months out of the senior side, and county teammate Saqib Mahmood will join the Lions setup at the same time following his involvement in England's three-match ODI series against the Proteas.

"We've selected two exciting squads for our Lions’ tour of Australia, where the aim is not only to win matches but to prepare players for international cricket," said national selector Ed Smith.

"With this tour we've got England’s short-term needs in mind, with the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka and a busy summer schedule, as well as an opportunity to provide players with relevant experience for future Ashes series.

"Australia is a tough place to tour as an England player at any level, so it will be a great test for all involved."

^{Yorkshire's Tom Kohler-Cadmore will return to the side having previously been dropped for disciplinary reasons}

Several players are set to be in line for their first England Lions appearances, including Sussex batsman Laurie Evans, Durham seamer Brydon Carse and Kent paceman Matt Milnes in the one-day squad.

They will be joined by Yorkshire batsman Tom Kohler-Cadmore in for the white-ball series as he makes his first England squad appearance in over a year, following disciplinary action against him and Joe Clarke after the rape conviction of their former Worcestershire teammate Alex Hepburn in April.

Whilst captains for the tour have yet to be named, Hampshire batsman Sam Northeast is set to play a senior role in the four-day squad, which carries the unique feature of two players of the same name, as both Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson and his wicketkeeping Kent namesake have been named in the 15-man selection.

Mo Bobat, who was appointed the ECB's performance director in October, commented: "In addition to meeting England's Test needs, one of our goals is to broaden and strengthen our white-ball talent pool in order to deliver sustained success across both formats.

"We have some exciting young players travelling in the squad this winter who we believe have what it takes to step up in the future. With several young players selected for the England ODI tour of South Africa, the Lions can provide a developmental opportunity to an extended group of players.

"In selecting our squads, we have given careful consideration to players who have been presented with franchise cricket opportunities and, for some, these competitive experiences are exactly what they need at this stage of their development.

"Our selections have been underpinned by progressive discussions with the counties about each player’s best interest and I'd like to thank the counties for their collaborative approach to informing our decisionmaking."

^{Ollie Robinsons from both Sussex and Kent have been named to the Lions' four-day squad}

One-day squad: Tom Abell, Dom Bess, James Bracey, Henry Brookes, Brydon Carse, Mason Crane, Laurie Evans, Richard Gleeson, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Will Jacks, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Dan Lawrence, Matt Milnes, Tom Moores, Craig Overton

Four-day squad: Dom Bess, James Bracey, Zak Crawley, Richard Gleeson, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Sam Northeast, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Amar Virdi

Fixtures

Sunday, February 2: One-day match v Cricket Australia XI – Metricon Stadium, Carrara

Tuesday, February 4: One-day match v Cricket Australia XI – Metricon Stadium, Carrara

Thursday, February 6: One-day match v Cricket Australia XI – Metricon Stadium, Carrara

Sunday, February 9: One-day match v New South Wales XI – Drummoyne Oval, Sydney

Tuesday, February 11: One-day match v New South Wales XI – Drummoyne Oval, Sydney

Saturday, February 15-Tuesday, February 18: Four-day match v Cricket Australia XI – Blundstone Arena, Hobart

Saturday, February 22-Tuesday, February 25: Four-day match v Australia A – MCG, Melbourne (D/N)

Monday, March 2-Thursday, March 5: Four-day match v New South Wales XI – North Dalton Park, Wollongong

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