England Under-19 Tour To Zimbabwe Set To Begin (28 Dec 1995)

Electronic Telegraph Thursday 28 December 1995

Under-19 Tour: Morris to lead hunt for elixir of youth

By Edward Bevan

THE England Under-19 team, led by all-rounder Alex Morris, who made his championship debut for Yorkshire last season, arrive today in Zimbabwe for a seven-week tour including three Test matches and three one-day internationals.

Since the inaugural tour to the West Indies in 1976 which formulated the first-class careers of, among others, Mike Gatting and David Gower, many players, including the present England captain, have benefited from their initial experience of touring with under-19 teams.

The 15-man squad spent four days at Lilleshall earlier this month under the guidance of coach David Lloyd and manager Graham Saville, who were in charge of the corresponding tour to the West Indies last winter.

"We will seek to maintain our recent impressive record, especially the high standards we set last year against a strong West Indies under-20 team," said Saville.

Richard Johnson, the Middlesex seamer, and Yorkshire batsmen Michael Vaughan and Anthony McGrath, are recent examples of former under-19 players who have graduated through the system.

Johnson, who toured Sri Lanka in 1994 before going to India with the A team last winter, was also selected for the senior tour of South Africa before pulling out with a back injury, while the Yorkshire pair were also chosen for A tours 12 months after playing at under-19 level.

Alex Tudor, 18, who played five championship games for Surrey last season, could emulate Johnson, especially if he produces the pace and hostility which brought career-best figures of five for 32 against Derbyshire in August.

Zimbabwe`s flat pitches are unlikely to help Tudor, though there should be opportunities for Usman Afzaal, the Nottinghamshire slow left-arm spinner, and Gareth Edwards, a promising Welsh off-spinner.

Andrew Flintoff, the Lancashire bowler, and Noel Gie, the Nottinghamshire middle-order batsman, are others with first-class experience, while David Sales made an immediate impact for Northamptonshire on his Sunday league debut against Essex in 1994, scoring 70 not out from 56 deliveries.

Apart from the final Test and a one-day international in Bulawayo, the other games will be played at first-class or Testmatch venues in Harare.

England Under-19 Squad (for tour of Zimbabwe): *A Morris (Yorkshire), U Afzaal (Nottinghamshire), G Batty (Yorkshire), C Campbell (Durham), G Edwards (Glamorgan), A Flintoff (Lancashire), N Gie (Nottinghamshire), P Hutchison (Yorkshire), D Nash (Middlesex), J Ormond (Leicestershire), D Roberts (Northamptonshire), D Sales (Northamptonshire), O Shah (Middlesex), A Tudor (Surrey), M Wood (Yorkshire). Manager: G Saville. Coach: D Lloyd. Physio: S Robertson.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http: www.telegraph.co.uk)