Newell's young boys ready for kick-off

Mick Newell has been impressed with what he has seen of England Under-19s so far, ahead of their tour to Bangladesh

England Under-19s coach Mick Newell is under no illusions as to the test his fledgling side face on their tour to Bangladesh - but he is confident they have the character to come through such a stern proposition.

Newell, who has been putting the side through their paces at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough over the past week, is due to fly out to Bangladesh with the squad today having been handed the reigns only last week.

The 44-year-old was seconded from his role as director of cricket at Nottinghamshire following the departure of Andy Pick.

And Newell is bullish about the squad’s prospects heading into their first game, a two-day practice match against Bangladesh Second XI starting on Monday.

“The preparations are going well; we’ve had a week at Loughborough which has been good,” he told ecb.co.uk.

“It looks an excellent squad for one-day cricket and four-day cricket. I knew one or two of the boys from playing against Notts and I’m very impressed with the quality.

“We need to put ourselves in match conditions and see if what we do in the indoor nets can be transferred into games.”

Although he has been left impressed by the squad in the comforting surroundings at Loughborough, Newell is acutely aware that the challenges facing them once they depart are not just on the cricket field.

“I think going to Bangladesh will be a challenge for young people, and not just in a cricketing sense,” he said.

“We have a lot of factors to consider and there will be different conditions that the players will not have experienced, so we will have to focus on that.”

Newell's charges are due to play two of their seven one-day games at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Newell himself is making his first foray into the international coaching scene, a jump which he readily admits he is relishing having established himself as one of the top coaches on the county scene.

“I was very pleased to be asked,” he said. “I’ve wanted to get involved at a higher level for a little while now and I’ve been in county cricket for around 20-odd years so it’s great to be involved in something different.

“It’s a little bit going back in time with me. With the first team [at county level], it can sometimes be a mix of motivations and things like that but now it’s back in dealing and mixing with younger players.”

While Newell admits the squad could be in for a culture shock in Bangladesh, one thing he thinks will be in their favour is that many of the touring party will have a sound knowledge of the opposition given their opponents toured in England just a few months ago.

“I think that will be helpful,” Newell added. “I think the biggest challenge in going to Bangladesh is playing in completely alien pitch and weather conditions, so that will be something that we have to adapt to.

“They came here in the summer and it was completely alien to them, so I think that’s the key to winning over there, getting used to the conditions quickly and just getting on and playing.”