An England under-23 XI - the future looks bright

It's been a tremendous week for English cricket. Not only did the England team end its 35 year quest for an ICC limited overs trophy, but several young England qualified players have had shone in the county championship.

In this week alone of England qualified players under the age of 23, Craig Kieswetter was man of the match in the World T20 final whilst Ben Stokes, Alex Hales and Adam Lyth all showed that they are potential England players of the future in matches for Durham, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire respectively.

To emphasise just how strong England's supply of talented under-23's is, we thought it would be fun to select an England under-23 side. This side follows, but when you consider that Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire, 20), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire, 22), Luke Fletcher (Nottinghamshire, 21), Oliver Hannon-Dalby (Yorkshire, 20) and Scott Borthwick (Durham, 20) all miss out it just goes to show the extent of England's resources.

The future looks bright.

1. Adam Lyth (Yorkshire, 22)- Lyth already has 622 first-class runs this season and scored 142 and 93 against Somerset this week. Can the left-hander follow the other great Yorkshire and England openers like Sutcliffe, Boycott and Hutton into the pantheon?

2. Sam Northeast (Kent, 20) - Has had a tough start to the season with Kent after impressing in 2009, but big things are expected of the Harrow educated Kent batsman.

3. Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire, 21) -  Reverse Sweep favourite Hales broke into the Notts side last season and scored an unforgettable 150 in a 40 over match against Worcestershire. Had been biding his time on the sidelines this season but made an instant impression with a composed 136 against Hampshire this week.

4. James Taylor (Leicestershire, 20) - Has faltered a bit this season after a stellar 2009 saw him win two accolades in the Cricket Writers' Club and PCA Young Player of the Year awards, and he wintered with the Lions. Most judges would back pint-sized Taylor to come good though.

5. Ben Stokes (Durham, 18) - Thanks to Sky's coverage of the Kent-Durham match this week, we had the pleasure of watching Stokes confirm the belief that he will play for England in the next few years. His unbeaten hundred in the first innings and rapid 42 not out in the second marks him out as potentially a very special player and he is apparently already on the selectors radar.

6. Rory Hamilton-Brown (Surrey, 22, Captain)- Is having a tough baptism as Surrey skipper, but we've seen enough quality to suggest that RHB could force his way into the England set-up one day. He certainly doesn't lack fight or fear a challenge.

7. Craig Kieswetter (Somerset, 22) - Yes, he needs to improve his work with the gloves, but England could just find they have their own version of Adam Gilchrist. The fact that he was born in South Africa doesn't worry us. Matt Prior must be extremely worried about his position in the test and one day sides.

8. Adil Rashid (Yorkshire, 22) - Still only 22, Rashid may have lost some confidence thanks to his year of carrying the drinks for England in various parts of the world, but he has plenty of time to hone his leg-spin and live up to the plaudits that have flooded his way over the last few seasons. England need to be patient with him and if they do, England could have a gem on their hands. And he has a first-class batting average of nearly 40 too.

9. Chris Woakes (Warwickshire, 21) - Woakes has impressed with both bat and ball for Warwickshire this season and could quickly emerge as a challenger to Tim Bresnan and Luke Wright for the number seven spot in the Twenty 20 and one day sides.

10. James Harris (Glamorgan, 20) - Burst onto the scene as a seventeen year old when he took seven wickets in an innings in the county championship. Has continued to impress and the fact he was in the Lions team that faced Bangladesh this week shows he is on the selectors radar too.

11. Steve Finn (Middlesex, 21) - The giant quick made a good impression on his test bow in Bangladesh, has started the season well and must have a real chance of going to Australia in the winter. Could he become as good as Steve Harmison? We'll have to wait and see. 

Comments

[Dave the Bard Bird]

You're correct, awesome squad. I hope Sharky Finn can be a lot better than Harmy!
I think Luke Fletcher and Scott Borthwick are better bowlers than Rashid and Harris.
Thing is, I've not seen anyone turn it like Borthwick did on the telly the other day.
Fletcher could be the next Fraser.

[The Reverse Sweep]

I haven't seen much of Fletcher, but if he is anywhere near as good as Angus that would be cool. I think we can hope that Finn can be more consistent than Harmy but i'm not sure if Finn can reach the heights Harmy reached in 2004 and 2005.