Billings receives England Lions call-up
Kent ‘keeper-batsman Sam Billings has been called up for the England Lions first-class match against South Africa next Thursday.
The 26-year-old will be available for selection on days 1 and 2 of the Specsavers County Championship day-night match against Nottinghamshire starting at Trent Bridge on Monday (26 June, 2pm) with a fully participating substitute allowed for days 3 and 4.
The Kent Cricket Academy graduate is joined by two other players from the England squad for this week’s NatWest T20 International series against South Africa – Liam Livingstone and Mason Crane.
Billings will be the wicketkeeper, with Worcestershire’s Joe Clarke included in a Lions squad for the first time this summer after scoring a century in each innings of their Championship victory over Kent this week.
All four pace bowlers – Garton, Helm, Mahmood and Overton – will be rested from next week’s county day/night matches but the eight remaining members of the squad will be available to their counties for the first two days.
James Whitaker, the National Selector, said: “We did not consider players from Nottinghamshire or Surrey because the last day of the game clashes with the Royal London One-Day Cup final on July 1, and as ever we were mindful that all 18 first-class counties have important fixtures in the Specsavers County Championship day-night round which runs from Monday to Thursday.
“Gary Ballance has had an excellent start to the season with Yorkshire, impressing with both his batting and his captaincy, and we wanted to give him this opportunity to lead the Lions against international opposition.
“Similarly for Sam Billings, it is a chance for him to show what he can do both as a batsman and a wicketkeeper in a first-class fixture for the Lions after several months playing one-day and T20 cricket for England and in the IPL.”
England Lions (v South Africa, June 29 – July 1): Keaton Jennings (Durham), Sam Robson (Middlesex), Tom Westley (Essex), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire, capt), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Joe Clarke (Worcestershire), Sam Billings (Kent, wk), Jamie Overton (Somerset), Tom Helm (Middlesex), George Garton (Sussex), Sajib Mahmood (Lancashire), Mason Crane (Hampshire).