Worcestershire CCC spinner Ben Twohig has been put on stand-by by England for the forthcoming ICC Under-19s World Cup in Bangladesh.
Twohig is one of four players England will be able to call upon as a replacement if they are hit by injuries during the tournament during January and February.
The former Malvern College pupil has been part of England's Development Programme this winter along with County colleagues Josh Tongue and Josh Dell.
They are forming part of the group of youngsters where the focus is on the post 2016 Under-19 World Cup period and this week have been involved in the second of three camps at the Loughborough National Performance Centre this winter.
Twohig has had previous involvement with the EDP and played for the Under-17s against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year.
Worcestershire Academy Director Elliot Wilson said: "It is great news for him. I hope he might get the opportunity to go but, if he doesn't, it is just good recognition that he is hopefully moving in the right direction."
Worcestershire duo Joe Clarke and Ed Barnard were part of the England Under-19 side which reached the 2014 World Cup semi-finals and have since graduated into the first team squad.
Twohig has just started his first professional contract with Worcestershire until the end of the 2017 campaign along with Tongue.
Wilson said: "Ben is really enjoying himself. He has been accepted really well by the existing professionals that are here this winter and he has become one of the group very quickly."
Twohig impressed when breaking into the Worcestershire Seconds last season as part of the 2014-2015 Academy intake and he returned his best figures of 6-74 against Lancashire in the Championship match at Southport.
Brad Taylor has been confirmed as England’s captain for the Under-19 World Cup.
The Hampshire off spinner is joined by his county team-mate Mason Crane and several other players with senior experience for the 50-over tournament, which starts on January 26.
Dan Lawrence of Essex will be Taylor’s vice-captain and the squad also includes the Durham batsman Jack Burnham, Somerset wicketkeeper Ryan Davies, Lancashire fast bowler Saqib Mahmood and Surrey all-rounder Sam Curran – all of whom made their county debuts in 2015, Davies for Kent and Curran taking 42 wickets in 23 appearances for Surrey in all competitions.
Aneurin Donald, who made his Glamorgan debut in 2014 and captained the Under-19s in their Royal London One-Day Series against Australia last summer, is recalled after missing the recent triangular tournament against India and Sri Lanka in Colombo.
David Graveney OBE, the National Performance Manager and chairman of selectors, said: “We have been building towards this competition for some time and I think we’re a lot further down the road than we were before the last Under-19s World Cup in Dubai two years ago.
"England finished third in that tournament which was a fine achievement and there is no reason why this squad could not do as well or even better than that.
“The team have spent the last three weeks in Sri Lanka and although the results were disappointing, it was a valuable learning experience against two very talented teams in conditions similar to those we expect to find in Bangladesh.”
After a Christmas break, the squad will leave for a week of practice in Dubai on January 14, including a warm-up match against South Africa on January 18, before flying on to Bangladesh two days later.
England will open their campaign against Fiji in Chittagong on January 27, with further group games against West Indies and Zimbabwe.
This will be the 11th running of the tournament since it began in 1988, with England’s sole win coming 10 years later when a team captained by Owais Shah and including Graeme Swann and Rob Key beat New Zealand in the final in Johannesburg.
England squad for ICC Under-19 World Cup, Bangladesh, January 26 – February 14
George Bartlett – Somerset
Jack Burnham – Durham
Mason Crane – Hampshire
Sam Curran – Surrey
Ryan Davies – Somerset
Aneurin Donald – Glamorgan
George Garton – Sussex
Ben Green – Somerset
Max Holden – Middlesex
Dan Lawrence (Vice Captain) – Essex
Saqib Mahmood – Lancashire
Tom Moores – Nottinghamshire
Brad Taylor (Captain) – Hampshire
Callum Taylor – Essex
Jared Warner – Yorkshire
