Durham’s Brydon Carse and Alex Lees have been named in a 14-strong squad for England Lions tour of Australia starting in November.
The touring party will depart on the 4 November along with the Test specialists selected in the Ashes squad.
The Durham duo both impressed this summer, once again, with Alex Lees scoring 625 runs in the County Championship at 39.06 which included a best of 129 against Warwickshire. Lees returns to the England Lions squad for the first time in six years and will be looking to make an impression on this tour.
Carse who was part of the England Lions of Australia in 2020 took 36 wickets in the Championship at 21.29 with a best of 5/49 against Warwickshire in a rampant spell for the Durham quick.
Selection is subject to passing Lions minimum fitness standards, which will be administered over the coming weeks.
The squad includes four players, James Bracey, Mason Crane, Ben Foakes and Dom Sibley, who are capped at Test level
Lancashire batter Josh Bohannon, Surrey wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and the Warwickshire pair of seamer Liam Norwell and opening batter Rob Yates are new to the Lions set-up.
The rest of the squad have had Lions experience in the past.
The Lions will be in camp alongside the England Ashes squad and will play two intra-squad matches (1 x 3-day and 1 x 4-day matches) in Queensland. They will also take on Australia A in a four-day match. Dates and venues are still to be confirmed. The party will return home on 16 December.
Coaching appointments will be announced in due course.
Squad: Tom Abell (Somerset), Josh Bohannon (Lancashire), James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Mason Crane (Hampshire), Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire, Ben Foakes (Surrey), Alex Lees (Durham), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Liam Norwell (Warwickshire), Matt Parkinson (Lancashire), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Rob Yates (Warwickshire)