Hamilton-Brown stripped of England captaincy

Rory Hamilton-Brown could miss out on captaining England Under-19 altogether © Getty Images Enlarge

Rory Hamilton-Brown has been stripped of the England Under-19 captaincy after what is described as a disciplinary breach on the eve of the first Test against Pakistan at Scarborough.

The ECB suspended him for the game which started on Saturday, and although he will be allowed back into the frame for the second and final Test at Derby, it will be as a player only.

The ECB told Cricinfo: "Rory Hamilton-Brown has served a match ban and will be considered for selection for the match starting this Friday, 10 August. He will not be considered for the captaincy."

This is the second time Hamilton-Brown, Surrey's batting allrounder, has been unable to lead the side - albeit for a different reason. He was supposed to captain them in Malaysia during the winter, but shoulder surgery prevented him from doing so.

Now it's possible he won't fulfill his dream after he watched his replacement Ben Wright make a century as England racked up 530 in their first innings. The side has a five-match ODI series following the Tests, which could be his last chance to captain, if at all.

The news comes in a week when speculation over his Surrey career was raised. But while he has been unhappy with dwindling appearances for the second team, he will see out his contract, which runs till the end of 2008.

A Surrey spokesperson told Cricinfo: "He's contracted to the club and as far as we are concerned he will be playing next year. He's annoyed he's not getting opportunities but his one-day stats aren't very good. He's a good youth prospect and we want to play him. He's a part of our future plans."

Whatever happens, this will be Hamilton-Brown's last summer for England Under-19s - he will be too old to represent them in the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia in February.