Brook to lead England in U19 Cricket World Cup

Harry Brook, the right-hand batsman, will lead the 15-man England squad in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Monday.

A majority of players that have been named for the World Cup recently toured South Africa for a tri-nation U-19 tournament, also featuring Namibia, where England lost to the home side in the final on Sunday.

England will mostly rely on Brook, Liam Banks, Savin Perera, Tom Banton and Will Jacks to score the bulk of the of runs up the order, while Fin Trenouth, Tom Scriven, the allrounder, and Prem Sisodiya will be expected to provide late firepower.

Meanwhile, the bowling attack will be led by Roman Walker, the right-arm pacer, and comprises Ethan Bamber, Dillon Pennington and Adam Finch.

"The players have shown with their performances in the Tri-Series in South Africa over the last couple of weeks that they can travel with plenty of optimism," said David Graveney, a member of the U-19 selection panel.

"We have really benefited from the flexibility permitted by selecting a number of over-age players for the Super-4s competition for the country's outstanding Under-17s this summer, which allowed a couple of Under-18s such as Savin Perera and Fin Trenouth to put in the performances that have led to their selection in the World Cup squad. This is an exciting opportunity for them, and for the rest of the squad - to travel to New Zealand, and to test themselves against the outstanding players from other countries in this age group."

Jon Lewis, the former England seamer, who will be England's head coach for the World Cup said: "I've been receiving regular reports of the team's progress in South Africa from Richard Dawson and the other coaches, and I'm really looking forward to joining the squad ahead of the World Cup."

The 16-team event will be held from January 13 to February 3, 2018, and England, who is drawn in Group C along with Bangladesh and Canada, will play its first game against Namibia on January 15.

Squad: Harry Brook (capt), Ethan Bamber, Liam Banks, Tom Banton (wk), Jack Davies (wk), Adam Finch, Luke Hollman, Will Jacks, Tom Lammonby, Dillon Pennington, Savin Perera, Prem Sisodiya, Tom Scriven, Fin Trenouth, Roman Walker.