Skill Set Programme confirmed

The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced that 54 players have been selected to attend the 2007 Skill Set Programme at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough.

The programme will be fronted by John Abrahams, the ECB’s elite player development manager, and runs from October 22 to December 21.

The Skill Set Programme has been borne out of the success of the fast-bowling project overseen by Kevin Shine and the spin-bowling programme developed by David Parsons.

The sessions will be designed to fit into the players' overall programme with their county and their inclusion means they have been identified as a player with outstanding promise in their specialist field.

David Houghton, former Zimbabwe and Derbyshire coach, has been invited to lead the batting national Skill Sets sessions, and Bruce French, the former Nottinghamshire and England wicket-keeper, to lead in his specialist subject.

Other coaches involved are Jack Birkenshaw (spin), Mick Newell (batting), Mike Hendrick and John Lever (pace).

The following players have been selected for the programme:

Batting

Michael Carberry (Hampshire)
Billy Godleman (Middlesex)
Will Jefferson (Nottinghamshire)
Tom Maynard (Glamorgan)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
Sam Northeast (Kent)
Daniel Redfern (Derbyshire)
Joe Sayers (Yorkshire)
James Taylor (Worcestershire)
Alex Wakely (Northamptonshire)
Tom Westley (Essex)
Greg Wood (Yorkshire)

Greg Wood will also be involved in the wicket-keeping Skill Set.

Pace Bowling

Bud Bailey (Northamptonshire)
Maurice Chambers (Essex)
Jade Dernbach (Surrey)
Danny Evans (Middlesex)
Luke Evans (Durham)
Steven Finn (Middlesex)
David Griffiths (Hampshire)
James Harris (Glamorgan)
James Iles (Kent)
James Lee (Yorkshire)
Chris Liddle (Sussex)
Stuart Meaker (Surrey)
Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire)
Tom Smith (Lancashire)
Mark Turner (Somerset)
Mervyn Westfield (Essex)
Robert Williams (Sussex)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

Spin Bowling

Vikram Banerjee (Gloucestershire)
William Beer (Sussex)
Danny Briggs (Hampshire)
Matthew Gitsham (Gloucestershire)
Moneeb Iqbal (Durham)
Mark Lawson (Yorkshire)
Christopher Morgan (Hampshire)
Michael Munday (Somerset)
Azeem Rafiq (Yorkshire)
Ollie Rayner (Sussex)
David Wainwright (Yorkshire)
Tom Winslade (Surrey)

Wicket-keeping

Michael Bates (Hampshire)
Sam Billings (Kent)
Ben Brown (Sussex)
Paul Dixey (Kent)
Andrew Hodd (Sussex)
Craig Kieswetter (Somerset)
Tom New (Leicestershire)
Thomas Poynton (Derbyshire)
Christopher Prowting (Essex)
Ben Scott (Middlesex)
John Simpson (Lancashire)
Adam Wheater (Essex)

Ben Brown will also be involved in the batting Skill Set.