England Under-19s Head Coach Jon Lewis is enjoying getting to know the group that he hopes can go as far as possible in the World Cup.
The England Under-19s are in New Zealand ahead of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, which gets underway on January 13.
Taking on the role of Head Coach for the tour is Jon Lewis, and the former England seamer – and current Assistant Head Coach at Sussex CCC – is looking forward to the tournament getting underway.
“It’s an exciting time. I’m new in the role and I’m looking around at the lads and they’re 17, 18 and 19 years old and they’re really excited about being here in New Zealand to try and win a World Cup.
“It’s a great experience for them, it’s a brilliant country and we’re here to explore, develop and try and win some cricket matches.”
Lewis has previous experience with the Under-19s, having been the bowling coach on the 2017 tour of India, but he takes on the reins as Head Coach for the first time, taking over from Andy Hurry who recently became Director of Cricket at Somerset CCC.
The December tour to South Africa was presided over by Gloucestershire coach Richard Dawson, who also played a role in selecting the 15, and Lewis has been able to tap into his former teammate’s knowledge of the group.
“Richard and I have been able to communicate on a number of occasions about selection and how the group go about their business,” explained Lewis.
“He’s given me a very in-depth report on each player from the South Africa tour so I’ll bear that in mind as well as making my own judgments.”
It does leave Lewis in the fairly novel situation of being Head Coach of a team who are new to him, but he’s seeing that as an advantage. “It’s brilliant. You have no pre-conceived ideas. You know the players in the 15 and then you pick what you see.”
“Sometimes as a coach you pick a team before you turn up on tour and it doesn’t work out for you. I will watch the guys over the next 10-12 days before our first competitive fixture and I’ll make my judgments based on what I see.”
And for Lewis there’s a clear aim for the group – progressing as far as possible.
“It’s a competitive competition at this age-group and it’s the first time these lads will have done something like this. With every new experience comes a great opportunity and as a group we’re really looking forward to trying our best and competing as well as we can.
“The balance between development and winning can sometimes be a tricky balance with age-group sides but throughout your career as a cricketer you’re always looking to develop.
“Regardless of whether you’re 17 or 34 you should be looking to improve your game and become a better cricketer, so I think it’s a given that we’re looking to develop but also we’re trying to compete and win. We’re in sport to win and that’s why we’re here.”
Squad:
Harry Brook (Yorkshire, captain)
Ethan Bamber (Middlesex)
Liam Banks (Warwickshire)
Tom Banton (Somerset, wk)
Jack Davies (Middlesex, wk)
Adam Finch (Worcestershire)
Luke Hollman (Middlesex)
Will Jacks (Surrey)
Dillon Pennington (Worcestershire)
Savin Perera (Middlesex)
Prem Sisodiya (Glamorgan)
Tom Scriven (Hampshire)
Fin Trenouth (Somerset)
Roman Walker (Glamorgan)
Euan Woods (Surrey) – injury replacement for Tom Lammonby (Somerset)