New Delhi, Jan 8 All-rounder Archie Vaughan will captain England men’s U19 team on its upcoming tour of South Africa. Archie, who is the son of former England captain Michael Vaughan, will lead an 18-man squad across three 50-over and two red-ball games happening from January 14 to February 6.
Archie took 15 wickets and scored 236 runs in just four County Championship matches for Somerset in the last season. "I found out that I was going to be captain during the training camp before Christmas and it was a very special moment. To get the opportunity to represent England at this level is really special in itself, but to lead the team out is something else," said Archie in a statement issued by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
"It will obviously be a good challenge and we'll have to adapt to the conditions. The training camp that we had over there before Christmas was really beneficial and we're all ready and raring to go.”
"If someone had told me 12 months ago that I would have forced my way into the Somerset first team and be captaining the Under-19s I wouldn't have believed them. It's happened quickly but I'm going to keep my feet on the ground and work harder and harder. The next step is to try and win in South Africa and hopefully, I can perform as well," he said.
The England Under 19 squad will fly out on Thursday ahead of the first 50-over game against the South Africa U19 team on January 17. The two-match red-ball series begins in Stellenbosch on January 26 before the second game happens in Cape Town on February 3.
“After putting in a lot of purposeful work on a really good camp before Christmas, we get the opportunity to play against South Africa Under-19s, which will be very exciting for the boys competing in an England shirt," said England U19 head coach Michael Yardy.
Meanwhile, South Africa also announced their U19 squads, with Bennie Hansen to captain them in both 50-over and red-ball games. “Regarding Bennie (Hansen), his captaincy and leadership style, he’s really done really well in terms of leading Western province at Khaya Majola and Cubs Week. Most importantly, Bennie has been part of our under-19 program.”
“He toured Bangladesh with us. He’s got a good understanding of how we want to play our cricket. And the fact that he plays the style that we like, playing with good positive intent. That made it an easier decision for me to choose him as a captain. He’s grown a lot in the past few months and it’s going to be quite exciting to see how he fronts up to the challenge of England,” said SA U19 Men’s head coach Malibongwe Maketa.
England U19 squad: Archie Vaughan (captain), Farhan Ahmed, Tazeem Ali, Ben Dawkins, Kesh Fonseka (Test squad only), Alex French, Alex Green, Jack Home, James Isbell, Eddie Jack, Ben Mayes, James Minto, Harry Moore, Joe Moores (ODIs only), Thomas Rew, Aaryan Sawant, Naavya Sharma and Alexander Wade
South Africa U19 ODI squad: Bennie Hansen (Captain), Daniel Bosman, Raeeq Daniels, Divan de Villiers, Carl Fryer, Paul James, Enathi Khitshini, Adnaan Lagadien, Chad Mason, Bandile Mbatha, Nqobani Mokoena, Lethabo Phahlamohlaka, Semal Pillay, Jason Rowles and Ntando Soni
South Africa U19 Test squad: Bennie Hansen (Captain), Daniel Bosman, Muhammad Bulbulia, Raeeq Daniels, Divan de Villiers, Paul James, Martin Khumalo, Adnaan Lagadien, Chad Mason, Nqobani Mokoena, Lethabo Phahlamohlaka, Nathan Rossouw, Jason Rowles, Jorich van Schalkwyk and Sandiswa Yeni
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