Amjad still in England frame

Amjad: chasing England recall

To see eight players who were part of the England Performance Programme last winter selected for England's tour of South Africa next month is a good indication of the importance of the programme for a player's development.

David Parsons
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A total of 41 players have been picked for the England Peformance Programme (EPP) this winter.

The England and Wales Cricket Board have split the programme into four squads to take account of differing levels of experience and requirements.

The category A players - Mark Davies, Amjad Khan, Stephen Moore and Michael Carberry - are judged to be closest to playing international cricket and will receive individualised support programmes to meet their specific developmental needs.

Kent paceman Amjad is the only one to have already featured for England, having made his Test debut against West Indies last March.

The 28-year-old has not featured since but the decision to include him in the EPP shows he remains in the thoughts of the England selectors.

Talent

There are 10 players in category B, which is for those in the first-class game who are perceived to be between one and three years away from making the full England team.

And a further 22 players, mainly younger and with less first-class experience, have been selected in category C.

In addition, a group of five young fast bowlers will spend time at a conditioning camp in Florida and at the MRF Fast Bowling Camp in Chennai under the guidance of former Australian paceman Dennis Lillee.

The category B and C squads will undertake separate training camps at the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough and at the CSA High Performance Centre in Pretoria, South Africa, in November and December respectively. Both camps will feature some competitive cricket opportunities.

The players at the South Africa training camp will have the chance to work alongside former international stars Graham Gooch, Allan Donald and Saqlain Mushtaq, who will support the full-time coaching team of David Parsons, Kevin Shine, Dene Hills and Bruce French, at various stages.

Ian Bell, Steven Davies, Ryan Sidebottom and Liam Plunkett, all named in England's Test squad to tour South Africa, will train in Pretoria alongside the Performance Programme before joining up with the senior side after the one-day series.

"I am really excited about the depth of the programme we have put in place for our most talented young players this winter" said ECB performance director David Parsons.

"We will be offering a greater range of training and support than before and have carefully tailored the programme to ensure that we can cater to the specific needs of individuals and their stages of development.

"To have access to former international players of the calibre of Graham Gooch, Allan Donald, and Saqlain Mushtaq, as well as the full-time ECB specialist coaching team, during the programme will be a tremendous asset, giving these young players the opportunity to learn from some of the very best in the world.

Stepping stone

"To see eight players who were part of the England Performance Programme last winter selected for England's tour of South Africa next month is a good indication of the importance of the programme for a player's development.

"With players like Eoin Morgan, Jonathan Trott and Graham Onions having made an immediate impact in the international arena this summer, having spent time with EPP and England Lions squads recently, we are keen to identify other players within County Cricket who can make a difference to the full England side."

As in previous winters, England Lions will undertake an overseas tour early in the New Year, although the details of that trip have yet to be confirmed.

Category A: Mark Davies (Durham), Amjad Khan (Kent), Stephen Moore (Lancashire), Michael Carberry (Hampshire)

Category B: Steven Finn (Middlesex), Andrew Gale (Yorkshire), Rory Hamilton-Brown (Sussex), Chris Jordan (Surrey), Chris Nash (Sussex), Joe Sayers (Yorkshire), Ajmal Shahzad (Yorkshire), James Taylor (Leicestershire), David Wainwright (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

Category C: Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Vikram Banerjee (Gloucestershire), Keith Barker (Warwickshire), William Beer (Sussex), Alex Blake (Kent), Andy Carter (Nottinghamshire), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Luke Fletcher (Nottinghamshire), Billy Godleman (Essex), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Richard Johnson (Warwickshire), Richard Jones (Worcestershire), Adam Lyth (Yorkshire), Jake Mickleburgh (Essex), Sam Northeast (Kent), Ollie Rayner (Sussex), Ian Saxelby (Gloucestershire), John Simpson (Middlesex), Tom Smith (Sussex), Max Waller (Somerset), Adam Wheater (Essex), David Willey (Northamptonshire)

Fast bowling programme: Jade Dernbach (Surrey), David Griffiths (Hampshire), James Harris (Glamorgan), Stuart Meaker (Surrey), Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire)