Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley picked for England Lions tour of Australia in January
England-capped Keaton Jennings, Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Dom Bess, Saqib Mahmood and Mason Crane also picked for tour
Monday 16 December 2019 16:07, UK
England's two most-recent Test debutants, Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley, have been selected for the red-ball leg of the England Lions tour of Australia in January, the ECB have announced.
Twenty-three players in total have been named on the tour, which departs the UK on January 21, with 16 selected to contest five 50-over matches against Cricket Australia and New South Wales XIs and then a 15-man group facing Australia A, a Cricket Australia XI and a New South Wales XI in three four-day matches in the second half of the tour.
Sibley and Crawley will join the red-ball squad at the end of England's Test series in South Africa, with the fourth and final Test in Johannesburg starting on January 24.
2019 Royal London One-Day Cup champions Somerset are well-represented in the 50-over Lions squad, with county captain Tom Abell joined by England-capped team-mates Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton and Dom Bess.
Gregory, Overton and Bess have also been picked for the red-ball squad, which sees former England opener Keaton Jennings given another chance to catch the selectors' eye at the top of the order.
Saqib Mahmood, who earned his first England cap in the T20 series with New Zealand in November, to makes the four-day squad, but will not join up with the team until after England's ODI series against South Africa.
England national selector Ed Smith said: "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.
"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."
A captain for the England Lions tour of Australia is said to be announced in due course.
England Lions 50-over squad: Tom Abell (Somerset), Dom Bess (Somerset), James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Henry Brookes (Warwickshire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Mason Crane (Hampshire), Laurie Evans (Sussex), Richard Gleeson (Lancashire), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Will Jacks (Surrey), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Yorkshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Matt Milnes (Kent), Tom Moores (Nottinghamshire), Craig Overton (Somerset)
England Lions four-day squad: Dom Bess (Somerset), James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Richard Gleeson (Lancashire), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Sam Northeast (Hampshire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Ollie Robinson (Kent), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Dominic Sibley (Warwickshire), Amar Virdi (Surrey)
