Young Lions Head Coach Jon Lewis says he’s “really excited” by the group of U19 players he has taken to India for a training camp.
Lewis and his staff are leading a squad of 18 across a 20-day training camp in Bangalore, India.
Fifteen of the group will be eligible for the 2020 ICC U19 World Cup in South Africa but performance and competitive fixtures aren’t the current focus.
“It’s important to spend time developing your skills without the fear of failure,” explained Lewis.
“You can’t only put skills under pressure in match situations and expect players to be creative about their improvement, there has to be a proportion of time where players can reflect, explore and rehearse, particularly in relevant conditions.
“That said, we’ll play some games out here but they’ll be framed as development opportunities where players can apply their learning to pressure scenarios and we’ll shape the games to help continue the themes of the camp.”
The squad has spent the winter with a real focus on developing their games for sub-continent conditions, with the Ian Bell masterclass a clear example of the experiences Lewis aims to provide.
“We travel to Bangladesh in 2019 and I’m expecting that to be an extremely tough test, so this is perfect preparation ahead of that series. We’re looking at it as a period of time in which we can learn about the players, and the players can learn about themselves and the challenges that await on a competitive series in the sub-continent.”
And for Lewis, what is learned in 20 days away from the UK might be as much off the pitch as on it. “When this group walked through the National Cricket Performance Centre doors back in October, that was the start of their journey with us. As well as developing their skills, it’s important they become more familiar with being on an England programme,” says Lewis.
“You can see the value of that with the likes of Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes and Sam Curran – they’ve transitioned seamlessly to the senior men’s team and to Test cricket.
“That’s about them feeling comfortable in the environment, which is a credit to coaches of the senior side, but it’s also credit to the Pathway for allowing those players to learn, develop and appreciate what it takes to become an international cricketer.
“We’re the start of that Pathway. We identify which players we think can step up and why. Others will always come through – Rory Burns would be a great example of that – but we get to know the guys on the Pathway as people and that helps us to help them as they progress through the ranks.
“When I chat to Andy Flower and the Lions staff about potential selections for the Lions squad, we talk about them as people as much as we talk about them as cricketers. We’ve spent time together as a group and when you do that you can learn so much about each other.”
Finding the right players is, says Lewis, extremely important and the aim is to do this in a comprehensive and collaborative way.
“It’s a very thorough process and Player Identification Lead Mo Bobat is heavily involved. He’s puts a lot of time and effort into developing our scouting network and selection processes, which means we’re able to watch a huge amount of cricket at U19 level and as a result, make more informed decisions.”
“We use the Super-4 Competition as a best versus best opportunity where our scouts, selectors and coaches can observe and assess players playing with and against their peers under competition pressure.
“Just as important at this age is the insight that we can gain from the players’ county coaches and Mo ensures that their information feeds into our decision-making.
“Once selected, players attend a comprehensive profiling weekend at the National Cricket Performance Centre where we gather further information on their games, their fitness and their mental approach – it’s important we start to understand them as individuals so that we can best support their needs.
“We follow that with detailed discussions with each player’s county so that we have agreement and alignment on each player’s development programme.
“In terms of our ongoing observations, so much of international cricket is about dealing with the situation and being able to adapt to the conditions and circumstances in front of you. We’re looking at whether players can handle the pressure and whether players can evolve their game to suit playing at the top level.
“Having people around you that you know and trust as a player is crucial and that takes time so throughout this camp we’ll be looking to strengthen those relationships as coaches and start this group’s journey on the Pathway.”
Young Lions India training camp squad
Kasey Aldridge (Somerset)
George Balderson (Lancashire)
Ethan Brookes (Warwickshire)
Ben Charlesworth (Gloucestershire)
Jordan Cox (Kent)
Adam Finch (Worcestershire)
Lewis Goldsworthy (Somerset)
Jack Haynes (Worcestershire)
George Hill (Yorkshire)
Luke Hollman (Middlesex)
Nick Kimber (Nottinghamshire)
Tom Lammonby (Somerset)
Dominic Leech (Yorkshire)
Jack Morley (Lancashire)
Dan Mousley (Warwickshire)
Hamidullah Qadri (Derbyshire)
Will Smeed (Somerset)
Jamie Smith (Surrey)