Tom Helm will make a surprise England Lions debut in the second one-day international against the United Arab Emirates in Dubai tomorrow, alongside his Middlesex team-mates Nick Gubbins and James Fuller, and the Somerset spinner Jack Leach.
Leach’s Somerset team-mate Craig Overton also comes into the team as coach Andy Flower rotates his squad to ensure that almost every member of the squad will have tasted competitive action at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, after more than two weeks of warm-weather practice at the ICC Academy.
Helm, a 22-year-old who was selected for the Pace Programme this winter, was invited with the leg-spinners Josh Poysden and Matt Parkinson to join the Lions programme in Dubai - and has been fast-tracked to the team after impressing in the nets.
The Lions will again be led by Keaton Jennings, who hit an unbeaten century as they took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with an eight-wicket win yesterday, and will join the senior England team in Mumbai next week.
Gubbins replaces Daniel Bell-Drummond as Jennings’ opening partner; Fuller and Overton join Helm and Tom Curran in the seam attack as Stuart Meaker, Toby Roland-Jones and Sam Curran take a break; and Leach comes in for Ollie Rayner as the specialist spinner.
The one-day series concludes on Monday, before the Lions play a four-day match against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi starting next Wednesday.
England Lions (v UAE, Saturday): K Jennings (Durham, captain), N Gubbins (Middlesex), T Alsop (Hampshire), J Clarke (Worcestershire), L Livingstone (Lancashire), B Foakes (Surrey, wk), T Curran (Surrey), J Fuller (Middlesex), C Overton (Somerset), J Leach (Somerset), T Helm (Middlesex).