Andy Flower says the England Lions players in the UAE – a squad including Worcestershire duo Joe Clarke and Ross Whiteley – have the chance to "put themselves at the front of the minds of the national selectors."
Clarke and Whiteley are part of the Lions party which flew out to Dubai last week for a five match 50 over series against Pakistan 'A'.
The pair were also part of the triumphant Lions squad which defeated Pakistan 'A' 3-2 in a T20 series during December although Clarke was only able to play in the opening game before suffering a quad injury.
Flower, the ECB's technical director of elite cricket coaching, said: “As with our time in Dubai before Christmas, this month offers the players another great opportunity to combine learning with high-quality competition.
“If we can play as well as we did in the T20s that would be nice, but it will be another tough series against a Pakistan team which is likely to have more international experience than we do, as was the case in the T20s.
“It is also an opportunity for these guys to put themselves at the front of the minds of the national selectors – and they’re aware of that.”
Whiteley played in all five of the T20 matches against Pakistan 'A.'
Worcestershire Director of Cricket, Steve Rhodes, is again part of the Lions coaching set-up in Dubai along with Flower, former India and South African coach Gary Kirsten and Derbyshire elite performance director Graeme Welch.
After a week-long training camp, the Lions will play warm-up games on Thursday (January 14) and Saturday (January 16) before the five match 50 over series which takes place on January 20, 22, 25, 28 and 30.
England Lions squad
James Vince (Hampshire) (captain)
Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire)
Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent)
Sam Billings (Kent)
Joe Clarke (Worcestershire)
Tom Curran (Surrey)
Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
Ben Foakes (Surrey)
Dawid Malan (Middlesex)
Craig Overton (Somerset)
Jamie Overton (Somerset)
Stephen Parry (Lancashire)
Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire)
Toby Roland-Jones (Middlesex)
Tom Westley (Essex)
Ross Whiteley (Worcestershire)
