Talent-stacked squad picked for U19 tour of England

Australia's third tour of England this winter is beginning to take shape, with a 16-player squad picked for the men's Under-19 series.

With the senior men's and women's teams currently at the back end of their northern hemisphere tours, Cricket Australia today announced the squad for the unofficial U19 Ashes commencing on August 26 with five one-day games followed by two four-day matches.

It reciprocates the tour England's young guns made Down Under earlier this year in what was a closely fought multi-format contest, which saw the teams draw the four-day matches 1-1, before Australia edged the 50-over games 2-1 and claimed a one-off T20 encounter.

Eight players who featured in last summer's squad will be on the plane to England, including overall leading run-scorer Harry Dixon (300 runs at 60) and the home side's second-highest wicket-taker Joshua Vernon (11 wickets at 17.55).

Australia male U19 squad to tour England: Hugh Weibgen (c, QLD), Lachlan Aitken (QLD) Harkirat Bajwa (VIC), Mahli Beardman (WA), Harry Dixon (VIC), Cameron Frendo (NSW), Ryan Hicks (NSW), Sam Konstas (NSW), Rafael MacMillan (NSW), Tom Menzies (NT), Cody Reynolds (QLD), Harjas Singh (NSW), Tom Straker (NSW), Josh Vernon (WA), Callum Vidler (QLD), Corey Wasley (WA).

Queensland's Hugh Weibgen, who also featured prominently with the bat during the series and peeled off dual fifties in the second four-day match, will captain the side.

"It's an exciting squad with some really talented players, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they go," head coach Anthony Clark told cricket.com.au.

"As far as a bunch of players, they all get along so well which is great to work with."

With an eye to the 2024 Under-19 World Cup set to be held in Sri Lanka, England and Australia will play five 50-over matches; the first three at Beckenham just south of London, and games four and five on the south coast at Hove.

The teams then contest two four-day matches, at the homes of county clubs Worcestershire and Northamptonshire respectively.

Queensland rookie-contracted Weibgen has strong leadership experience already, having captained Queensland Metro at last year's U19 National Championships.

He is the youngest ever to score a first-grade century at Valley District Cricket Club (17 years and 80 days) and spent some time training with members of the Australia men's Test team earlier this winter before they departed for the Ashes.

"He's a solid performer, and someone we've identified as having leadership credentials," Clark said.

"He's a good kid who seems to get along with everyone."

Weibgen takes over the U19 captaincy reins from Sydney Thunder young gun Joel Davies, who led the side earlier this year.

Davies, along with state-based rookie contracted Liam Blackford (Victoria) and Will Salzmann (NSW), are now ineligible for the U19 setup.

All the players selected for the UK tour will be eligible for next year's World Cup, Clark confirmed.

He said the trip represented a good test for younger players: "I think the challenge for us is that these are conditions that we've not played in before, but also coming in from an off-season where in most states, bar probably Queensland, we're just not going to have any access to turf pitches … so hitting the ground running and adapting quickly is going to be pretty important."

In recent weeks the squad has ramped up preparations; a 24-player camp in Brisbane was then followed by – for a select 11-player contingent – a trip to Sri Lanka, leaving no stone unturned before next year.

"It was to provide guys with an experience in the subcontinent, to train and check out what it's like in those conditions…it's an invaluable experience for kids this age," Clark said.

Of that 11-player squad, Cricket Australia deliberately picked five spinners, four batters and two wicketkeeper-batters.

New faces to the team in Sam Konstas, Ryan Hicks and Corey Wasley – all picked for the UK tour – travelled to Colombo, and Clark was summarily impressed.

"They were exposed to things they hadn't seen before, but just the way they worked things out and embraced the challenge shows they've got a real love for the game. They're exciting players."

The make-up of the squad to England is markedly different to the short trip to Sri Lanka that concluded last week, and features a strong fast bowling contingent.

The busy tour includes the possibility of 13 days of cricket in 25, which ensured there would be constant rotation.

"That's probably why we take as many players as we do, and as many bowlers as we do.

"We're not going to play the same XI in every fixture, our bowlers will probably get two to three one-day games each and they'll split the four-day games in half.

"We'll protect our fast bowlers with an eye to getting them through a full season back in Australia and onto the World Cup."

Clark said there were a number of players to look out for in the series, including WA rookie contracted pace pair Vernon and Mahli Beardman, plus others (like Harjas Singh, Tom Straker, Harkirat Bajwa and Lachlan Aitken) that featured in the series earlier this year.

Charlie Anderson, who scored two half-centuries and took seven wickets against England earlier this year, and Austin Anlezark were both injured and would not be part of the trip.

Queensland's Cody Reynolds, however, will feature in what is his first national U19 tour.

The Gold Coast quick is not only the son of Australia U19 alumni Dean Reynolds, but grandson of Queensland great Ray Reynolds – a prolific Sheffield Shield run-scorer in in the 1950s and 60s.

2023 Australia Male Under 19 Tour of England:

Aug 26: First ODI | The County Ground, Beckenham 

Aug 28: Second ODI | The County Ground, Beckenham 

Aug 31: Third ODI | The County Ground, Beckenham 

Sep 2: Fourth ODI | The First Central County Ground, Hove 

Sep 4: Fifth ODI | The First Central County Ground, Hove 

Sep 8-11: First four-day game | New Road, Worcester 

Sep 16-19: Second four-day game | The County Ground, Northampton