Chris Woakes to lead England Lions tour to Sri Lanka
View(s):Chris Woakes will captain a 15-man England Lions squad to tour Sri Lanka in February and March 2014. The Warwickshire all-rounder, 24, is one of four men in the squad to have been capped at Test level.
Warwickshire allrounder Chris Woakes will lead a strong England Lions side.
Woakes, Yorkshire’s Jonny Bairstow and Lancashire’s Simon Kerrigan featured in the last home Ashes series during the summer, while Nottinghamshire’s James Taylor faced South Africa in 2012. Middlesex batsman Sam Robson has gained his first England Lions call-up.
Australia-born Robson, 24, qualified for England on residency grounds in August. Woakes’s selection as captain has been announced two days after he signed a two-year contract to extend his stay at Warwickshire. Wicketkeeper-batsman Bairstow, 24, is with England’s Ashes squad in Australia as cover for Matt Prior.
England selector James Whitaker said: “We believe that this Lions squad contains an excellent mix of players who have had international exposure, combined with emerging young talent that we hope can flourish on this tour to Sri Lanka.”
The Lions will arrive in Sri Lanka on January 27 and play two three-day matches in Colombo against a Sri Lanka Emerging XI. The England Lions will then face three four-day matches against the Sri Lanka A team one each in Kandy, Dambulla and Colombo.
Whitaker added: “The opportunity to train and play in the sub-continent will be an invaluable experience and under the guidance of coach Mark Robinson we are convinced all the players will learn a great deal.”
Sri Lanka Cricket is yet to announce the Sri Lanka ‘A’ squad against England Lions.
| England Lions squad
Chris Woakes (Capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Scott Borthwick, Varun Chopra, Ben Foakes, James Harris, Chris Jordan, Simon Kerrigan, Alex Lees, Tymal Mills, James Overton, Sam Robson, James Taylor, James Vince. |
- BBC