Goodman and Billings to be monitored by England U19s

Kent Academy youngsters James Goodman (pictured) and Sam Billings have received some further good news. Both are currently being considered for selection by England for the U19 winter programme.

Commenting on their inclusion, Kent“s Academy Director, Phil Relf, said: “It is great news that James and Sam have been included in the under19 squad. Both of them will know that there are no guarantees and that the squad will be trimmed throughout the next few months. This means they need to produce match winning performances in county second-team games so that they remain in the selector’s minds.

"They have both worked hard at their games and the exciting thing is that I do believe they have substantial room for improvement still. Their inclusion represents a pat on the back for the Coaches who have worked with them since they have been involved with our set-up. The work of our KYC coaches often gets overlooked but they can take great credit for identifying and developing these two in the last five years.”

The Academy duo are included in a group of 25 players being considered for the following important fixtures.

07 September – 11 September – 4 x One Day Matches vs Leicestershire / Nottinghamshire 2nd XI’s – NCPC Loughborough (contribute to selection)

07 October – 07 November – England U19 Tour to Bangladesh – 7 x One Day Internationals / 1 x 4 Day Test Match

01 January – 09 January – Pre-World Cup Training Camp – venue tbc

09 January – 15 January – World Cup warm-up matches, New Zealand

16 January – 31 January – ICC U19 World Cup, New Zealand

The full 25-man squad is as follows:

Michael Best – Hampshire
Paul Best – Warwickshire
Sam Billings – Kent
Danny Briggs – Hampshire
Nathan Buck – Leicestershire
Jos Buttler – Somerset
Chris Dent – Gloucestershire
Matthew Dunn – Surrey
George Edwards – Surrey
James Goodman – Kent
Callum Haggett – Somerset
Atiq Javid – Warwickshire
Matt Machan – Sussex
Jack Manuel – Worcestershire
Ravi Patel – Middlesex
David Payne – Gloucestershire
Luke Perry – Lancashire
Azeem Rafiq- Yorkshire
Charlie Roebuck – Yorkshire
Joe Root – Yorkshire
Atif Sheikh – Derbyshire
Ben Stokes – Durham
Jack Taylor – Gloucestershire
James Vince – Hampshire
Luke Wells – Sussex

Picture: Getty Images