NEW DELHI, Dec 13
England Lions have announced a 15-man squad for their red-ball tour of India in the New Year, designed to run parallel with the men’s five-match Test series at the start of 2024. Hosted entirely in Ahmedabad, the Lions will play a two-day warm-up match against India A, followed by three four-day matches against the same opponents at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The group will be in situ from January 12 to February 4, coinciding with the first Test in Hyderabad (starting January 25) and the first half of the second Test in Visakhapatnam (February 2).
The squad will ultimately shadow the main tour and as such has more of a “second XI” feel than the spin and allrounder heavy group who recently completed a three-week training camp in the UAE. Recent Test openers Alex Lees and Keaton Jennings are part of the 15, along with internationally capped fast bowlers Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Matt Fisher. Uncapped Lancashire batter Josh Bohannon, long considered the next cab off the ranks, will captain after leading the County Championship Division One run charts last summer with 1,257 at an average of 59.85 with four centuries. Sussex off-spinner Jack Carson and left-arm orthodox Callum Parkinson, who has moved from Leicestershire to Durham, are also included. Both were shots for the main tour before Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum picked precocious Somerset spinner Shoaib Bashir. James Coles (Sussex) and Dan Mousley (Warwickshire) are the two other slow bowlers in the travelling party.
England Men’s performance director Mo Bobat said: “Playing a series in India at any level is a challenge to get excited about, it’s one of the truest tests for any cricketer. It’s great that our Lions team can experience that challenge and have the opportunity to showcase their skills in those conditions.
“The squad has a strong core of players in it that were out in Abu Dhabi recently for the training camp, with some of those players already selected into the Test squad. There’s also a return for some more experienced players which aligns with supporting England’s more immediate needs.”
England Lions squad: Josh Bohannon (Lancashire, captain), Kasey Aldridge (Somerset), Brydon Carse (Durham), Jack Carson (Sussex), James Coles (Sussex), Matt Fisher (Yorkshire), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Tom Lawes (Surrey), Alex Lees (Durham), Dan Mousley (Warwickshire), Callum Parkinson (Durham), Matt Potts (Durham), Ollie Price (Gloucestershire), James Rew (Somerset), Ollie Robinson (Durham)aSchedule 12-13 January: England Lions v India A, Narendra Modi Stadium – Ground B, Ahmedabad 17-20 January: England Lions v India A, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad 24-27 January: England Lions v India A, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad 1-4 February: England Lions v India A, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
