Ball and Bell-Drummond looking forward to England U19 tour

Kent all-rounder Adam Ball and batsman Daniel Bell-Drummond left for Sri Lanka earlier today as part of the England U19 side.

Lewis Gregory (Somerset) will captain the 17-man squad for the duration of the four week tour, which comprises two four-day Test matches and a five match one-day international series.

Bell-Drummond, who signed his first professional contract with the county back in September, is looking forward to the trip despite being very aware of the challenge ahead: “The tour should be good fun. I“m really looking forward to playing Sri Lanka and hopefully beating them on their patch. They are a strong side and especially hard to beat at home but we are confident that our side is equipped to deal with what they have to throw at us.”

The right-hand bat burst onto the international scene last summer when England hosted their Asian counterparts, and the 17 year-old was justifiably proud of his efforts: “I was delighted with the 88 not out in the second ODI to see us home to win the series. Walking out for the under 19s, for the first time, was a special moment and one that I will never forget. The knock of 88* was quite hard, it was just a case of staying in the moment, taking it ball by ball, rather than focussing on the whole outcome and going through processes. I was happy to make any impact.”

It is the Lewisham-born starlet“s first tour away with England under 19s and he is looking forward to the experience but admits having a county team-mate alongside him will help: “This is my first trip to Sri Lanka and I“m certainly looking forward to it. I guess there are good and bad points to touring. I will be away from family but sampling different culture, food and lifestyle will provide a brilliant life experience and will get me out of a comfort zone. I“ve been with Bally since under 12s and it will be good to have him on the tour as we know each other“s games and get on really well.”

The aforementioned Ball, who made his Kent first-team debut last summer, is a veteran of the under 19 side, having excelled during last year“s World Cup and understands the hard work required to be a success at this level: “I cannot wait for the trip to get going. It“s been a tough period since the summer, preparing for Sri Lanka, but now I“m just looking forward to getting out on the park and putting some good performances in. I feel in good shape, having worked hard on my fitness and strength with Pete Kelly (Kent) and Sam Bradley (England), and now I cannot wait to see the improvements.”

Having been amongst the under 19 setup for more than a year, the all-rounder knows a lot about his team-mates and is confident of success on the tour: “We have a very talented bunch of players who play with lots of freedom and no fear of failure. If we can get on top and win the first couple then we will put pressure on and should come out on top. We have worked hard over the last few months and have a very good team spirit. Everyone is looking forward to getting out there and performing for our country.”

The 17-year-old has played on the sub-continent before and is well aware of the challenges ahead. He believes Bell-Drummond will flourish in Sri Lanka: “I“ve been to India before, similar conditions, but that was only for a one-week tour. It will be difficult but I“m looking forward to keeping hydrated – that“s the important thing. Daniel has a lot of talent. I think he will cope with the conditions well and show that he has got a great future in the game.”

To send Ball on his travels, the talented all-rounder enjoyed a final night with his family and, in the end, he was surprised by his mates turning up to bid him farewell: “I had a bit of a surprise on Tuesday night. I went out for a meal – expecting it to be me and my family but then all my school friends turned up too. It was great fun and a nice way to say goodbye ahead of our tour to Sri Lanka!”

The full England U19 squad is as follows: Lewis Gregory (captain, Somerset), Adam Ball (Kent), Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent), Christian Davis (Northamptonshire), Matthew Dunn (Surrey), Ben Foakes (Essex), Ateeq Javid (Warwickshire), Tymal Mills (Essex), Tom Milnes (Warwickshire), Jack Parsons (Sussex), Gurman Randhawa (Yorkshire), Adam Rossington (Middlesex), Andrew Salter (Glamorgan), Jack Sheppard (Hampshire), Rammi Singh (Durham), Shiv Thakor (Leicestershire), Sam Wood (Nottinghamshire)

Fixtures
Test Series
14-17 January 4 day Test Dambulla Stadium
20-23 January 4 day Test Asgiriya Stadium

ODI Series
28 January 1st ODI Colts Cricket Club
30 January 2nd ODI Colts Cricket Club
01 February 3rd ODI Nondescripts Cricket Club
03 February 4th ODI Sinhalese Sports Club