Oswestry’s Joe Clarke has been included in the England Lions training squad, with games in Dubai against the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan.
The 20-year-old former Oswestry CC player, now at Worcestershire, had been tipped by some within the game to earn a place on the plane to Bangladesh with the senior squad.
But the right-hander will instead work with former England coach Andy Flower at two camps – in Sandhurst and Loughborough – before the trip to Dubai.
They will play white-ball matches against the UAE before a three-day game against the Afghans.
Clarke, who studied at Llanfyllin High School, finished the season well, scoring 125 against Northants at Worcester, adding to his 98 against Glamorgan.
He joins a talented squad, including Surrey’s Curran brothers, Lancashire’s Liam Livingstone and Toby Roland-Jones, who was included in the England squad for the first test against Pakistan this summer.
The call-up to the Lions squad represents another step-up for Clarke in such a short space of time, coming 18 months after his First Class debut.
According to ESPN Cricinfo, Clarke is rated highly by Steve Rhodes, now part of the England set-up, as one of the best players to come out of Worcestershire.
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