Flintoff, 16, was a last-minute addition to the Lions’ tour of South Africa earlier this month. It was his father’s first tour as a manager and he played in a one-off tour match against a CSA Invitational XI in Cape Town, hitting 4 from 3 balls in his only innings.
His arrival began with precocious performances for the Lancashire 2nd XI in April, continued through a multi-format debut for England Under-19s against Sri Lanka in July, and culminated in his first professional contract with Lancashire in August. And then a first-class debut follows.
England manager Brendon McCullum had flagged the possibility of Bashir being included in the Lions last October, with his game showing in recent games in Pakistan and New Zealand where he took 17 wickets at 50.58 in six Tests. I had a feeling it was like this: Britain did not progress as quickly as it had hoped.
“The opportunity for Bash to get some experience in those conditions could be really important for us,” McCullum said at the conclusion of the Pakistan tour last October. “That’s the beauty of the Lions program – there’s an opportunity to introduce cricket to guys. With Freddie now there and in charge of the Lions, he has a very similar view of the game that I have. The consistency of the message is “There will be, and it’s something we’ll have to look at.”
Josh Hull, the 20-year-old Leicestershire left-armer who made a surprise Test debut against Sri Lanka in September, has not been included in the main squad but will travel to Australia as he continues his rehabilitation from a quad injury.
Among the batsmen is Alex Davies, who has been rewarded for his strong season with Warwickshire, who made four centuries in his first year as captain, and Somerset’s wicket-keeper batsman James Rew.
Ed Barney, England Men’s Performance Director, said: “We have rewarded players who have proven themselves at this level and those who have significant potential. The matches and tours of Australia are always important and we look forward to providing quality opposition. “We’re excited for the opportunity to test ourselves against the rest.” This allows us to evaluate performance, improve preparation, and continue to partner with the country’s best emerging talent.
“I’m also delighted to see Josh Tongue back in cricket. Josh has had a difficult time with injury but is progressing well and will benefit from this tour as we step up our preparations. We hope this is the start of a prosperous season.” “I hope he returns to cricket in 2025.”
squad: Sonny Baker (Hampshire), Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Pat Brown (Derbyshire), James Coles (Sussex), Sam Cooke (Essex), Alex Davis (Warwickshire), Rocky Flintoff (Lancashire), Tom Hartley. (Lancashire), Tom Lawes (Surrey), Freddie McCann (Nottinghamshire), Ben McKinney (Durham), James Lu (Somerset), Hamza Sheikh (Warwickshire), Mitch Stanley (Lancashire), Josh Tung (Nottinghamshire) and John Turner (Hampshire).
fixtures: January 14-17 – CA XI v Lions, Shaw Park (Brisbane), January 22-25 – CA England Lions, Cricket Central (Sydney).
