Joe Clarke has been included in the England Lions squad for a training camp in Australia during November and December.
The Worcestershire batsman has enjoyed another successful season and scored 920 runs at an average of 43.80 in the Specsavers County Championship to help the County to the Division Two title.
It was a figure only bettered by opener Daryl Mitchell (1266) and in addition Clarke was Worcestershire’s leading scorer in the NatWest T20 Blast after a switch to the opening role and also their top six hitter with 19 in the competition.
Clarke has been a regular member of the Lions set-up since making his debut against Pakistan A in the UAE two winters ago and has often spoken of his desire to play for England.
The Lions will spend a week at the Performance Centre in Loughborough before flying to Brisbane on November 14, for a two-week camp with a red-ball focus.
This will culminate in a three-day match against a Queensland XI at the Allan Border Oval from November 27-29 – although this will not be an official England Lions fixture.
They then head west to Perth for two weeks focusing on white-ball skills during which they will play three T20 matches against a Scorchers team who will be preparing for the Big Bash.
The Lions squad for a seven-week trip to the West Indies in 2018, including three four-day matches and three 50-over fixtures, will be selected in December, along with the squads for the North-South Series which follows in Barbados in March.
Clarke was chosen for the North squad last winter.
James Whitaker, the National Selector, said: “This camp provides an opportunity for emerging young talent and some players with international experience to work hard on their game in Australia, in excellent facilities, under the guidance of Andy Flower and our other lead coaches.
“The players selected have a range of experience, and we believe they are an exciting group.
“This is a great chance for them to impress, before we select another Lions squad for the games against West Indies A in the second half of the winter.
“We would expect a number of other players to be in contention for that squad – for example Haseeb Hameed was not considered for the Australia camp to avoid him having to rush back from the injury he suffered recently playing for Lancashire.”
LIONS
Dom Bess (Somerset), Joe Clarke (Worcestershire), Paul Coughlin (Durham/Nottinghamshire), Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire), George Garton (Sussex), Nick Gubbins (Middlesex), Tom Helm (Middlesex), Keaton Jennings (Durham/Lancashire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Jamie Porter (Essex), Amar Virdi (Surrey), Tom Westley (Essex), Mark Wood (Durham).
WINTER DATES
November 14 – depart for Australia.
November 15-29 – Brisbane, including three-day match against a Queensland XI at Allan Border Oval from 27-29
November 30 – December 16 – Perth, including T20 matches against Perth Scorchers on 11, 13 and 15
January 31 – March 12 – England Lions tour of West Indies.
