Promising talents to take part in event in New Zealand next month

North Middlesex youngsters Ethan Bamber and Luke Hollman have been named in the England squad for next year’s Under-19 World Cup.

The talented pair have been named in the 15-man squad for the competition in New Zealand, which starts next month.

Bamber and Hollman are joined in the squad by fellow Middlesex Academy members Jack Davies and Savin Perera.

England have been placed in Group C for the competition, along with Bangladesh, Canada and Namibia.

The youngsters begin their campaign against Namibia on January 15, before facing Bangladesh on January 18 and Canada on January 20, with all matches taking place in Queenstown.

Prior to the tournament starting, England are due to face Ireland in Christchurch on January 9 and Sri Lanka in Lincoln on January 11 in warm-up matches.

The current England under-19 team will hope to replicate the success off the 1998 side, who won the competition in South Africa.

“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 Under-19s 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.

“It’s also worth congratulating Middlesex, Somerset, Worcestershire and Glamorgan, who contribute the majority of the squad, as a reward for the quality of their Academies.”

The West Indies are the defending Under-19 world champions, having won the title in Bangladesh back in 2016.