Wakely relishing Tigers encounter

Alex Wakely will be hoping for England's batsmen to stand up against Bangladesh

Alex Wakely is determined to reverse the disappointments of the World Cup when England Under-19s kick off their summer against Bangladesh A in July.

Thirteen of the 15 players in the Bangladesh touring party have played senior international cricket, and the England management are using the three-day game as a yardstick to test whether their young players are capable of pushing on to similar heights.

Northamptonshire batsman Wakely retains the captaincy in his final summer as an age-group player, and is the first man to lead an England Under-19 side against a touring ‘A’ side.

“As a captain, it’s an honour,” Wakely told ecb.co.uk. “But make no mistake, we’re going to put up a strong fight and show that we can match them.

“The better the opposition, the more we must raise our game. And anyone who’s scared about what’s coming up, well, they’re really in the wrong game.”

Wakely believes his group of players are as talented as any in the world at this level, and is disappointed that they seldom demonstrated that at the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia in February.

England beat minnows Bermuda and Namibia, but folded for just 136 against Bangladesh, and suffered another batting collapse to lose to eventual winners India in the quarter-finals.

The conditions were a tough initiation for his young attack, but Wakely is in doubt where the mistakes were made.

“It was us batters that let the side down, collapsing for such low totals against Bangladesh and India.

“It was a tough environment for our fast bowlers, but I must stress that as a captain I could not have asked for any more from them.

Wakely trudges off as Iqbal Abdullah strikes en route to dumping England out of the U19 World Cup

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“When we first went to Sri Lanka (for a warm-up series) their radar was all wrong, but by the time we got to the World Cup they were spot on, fantastic on unresponsive pitches.

“The results show that we have a lot to put right going into the summer, but the ECB have been very good about setting up debriefings so we can go through improved gameplans for players.

“We’re getting to the stage of our careers where we’ll be judged on results.

"It’s about stepping up and taking responsibility. The boys who stack up some statistics will be the ones who go further."

The three-day match with the Tigers A side acts a precursor to the two youth Test matches and one-day international series against New Zealand later in the summer, and Wakely is excited at the prospect of a new figure in the Under-19 set-up.

Luke Fletcher is a bustling seam bowler from Nottinghamshire, and one that stands out as the only member of the 12-man squad who has yet to figure at this level.

“I hadn’t heard of Luke until about two years ago,” admitted Wakely. “I saw him bowl a couple of times at youth level, and because of his build, I was unaware he was the same age as me.

“When I realised he was, I thought he would be a huge bonus for our side."

Fletcher was one of the crucial factors in Nottinghamshire Outlaws’ defeat of Wakely’s Northamptonshire Steelbacks in the Friends Provident Trophy match at Trent Bridge in May.

Fletcher’s economical spell of 9-0-25-1 proved instrumental in the Outlaws’ Duckworth-Lewis-affected win, the crucial result that knocked Northants out of the competition.

Wakely was watching from the sidelines and liked what he saw from Fletcher, if not the result.

Warwickshire's Chris Woakes will be a key component of the U19 seam attack

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“I was watching and he bowled as well as anyone in that match.

“He hits the seam really hard, and he’ll add variety to our attack."

By his own admission, Wakely’s form this season has been disappointing, and he was set back by a wrist injury sustained in the LV County Championship game with Warwickshire.

But he is heartened to see the success of the likes of Billy Godleman, Liam Dawson and Chris Woakes for their respective counties.

“It’s going to be interesting, because there are players who have come in for others because some are away with their counties in Twenty20. It’s going to be quite open."

Woakes starred for Warwickshire Bears with 4-21 against Somerset Sabres in the recent Twenty20 encounter, and Wakely is more than familiar with what he offers.

“I captained Chris in the youth Midlands sides, and he bowls lots of variations for one-day cricket.

“He’s ideal for a captain, because you can rely on him to bowl well any time."

The last time England Under-19s played Test matches, they drew a competitive two-match series 1-1 with Pakistan.

Wakely scored 112 in a resounding English victory in the first Test at Scarborough, with Ben Wright and Adam Lyth also scoring centuries.

Ahmed Shehzad scored a brilliant 167 to win the second Test for Pakistan at Derby, but Wakely sees New Zealand as an altogether different challenge.

"They're a strong outfit with some fine players, and if Tim Southee comes with them then that's great, we've got to test ourselves against the best.

“It’s the end of an era for some of us at Under-19, the last time we’ll play together, for at least a while. But it’s not what you’re remembered for.

"We're up against the big boys now."