Squad named for first YB40 game

A fourteen man squad has been named for the first Limited overs game of the season; the YB40 fixture against reigning champions Hampshire Royals at the Kia Oval tomorrow.

A surprise inclusion in the squad is that of 18 year old all-rounder Tom Curran, who is also joined in the party by Tom Jewell and Zafar Ansari.

Here is the squad in full:

Graeme Smith (C)

Steve Davies

Jason Roy

Vikram Solanki

Gary Wilson

Zander de Bruyn

Zafar Ansari

Gareth Batty

Tom Jewell

Tom Curran

Gary Keedy

Jade Dernbach

Jon Lewis

Tim Linley

It’s great to see Curran in the squad for the first time, and even though he probably won’t make the final X1, it is a great experience for him to be around the first team, as a lot of good things have been spoken about the young man. It’s also nice to see Tom Jewell finally get into a first team squad, after finding any opportunities difficult to come by over the last couple of season. He also has a bright future ahead of him, and I hope that he gets a game tomorrow, perhaps batting down at number 7.

I would certainly pick Jewell ahead of de Bruyn, who hasn’t been on form with the bat yet again, and Jewell will be chomping at the bit to prove to the management staff and Smith what he is capable of. Zafar is in the squad for the first time this season after being busy with Uni commitments, and with  Spriegel now having left us, he is very important to the make-up of the squad. His bowling can help to tie up an end, and his batting can vary between sensible when required, but electric when needs must.

Opening the batting will be Smith and Davies, and hopefully Davies is back to his best as he can take a game away from a side in this format, but for various reasons last year, we rarely saw that. All being well Smith will take heart from spending time in the middle today and create his first meaningful contribution with the bat.

Following them two will be Jason Roy and Vikram Solanki. Roy was very much hit and miss last season, after having a great 2011, and Solanki performed well for Worcestershire in the 40 over format before agreeing to sign for us. They are two very explosive players, and in Solanki, a player who looks to be in prime form.

Gary Wilson will be at number 5, and all being well he can transfer his brilliant form from the Championship into this format, and nail down his place in the side. As I said before, I wouldn’t play de Bruyn, and would have Ansari at 6, followed by Jewell. When playing limited overs cricket last year, de Bruyn would regularly take up lots of deliveries without scoring many, before perishing, so he shouldn’t be picked.

When it comes to the bowlers, Batty will of course play, with him being a revelation last year in the shorter forms of the game. I would also play Gary Keedy, as spinners have made up a lot of our success over the last couple of years, alongside Dernbach and one of Linley and Lewis. I would personally go with Lewis as he extends the batting line up, but is also desperate to play a game judging by his interview on 5 Live Sports Extra yesterday.

It will be a tough task, as Hampshire are of course reigning champions in both this and the T20 format, so they have the right set up for List A cricket. They have also played two games already, and won them both, so that possibly puts them at an advantage, but Smith is desperate to register his first win at the club, and let’s hope it comes tomorrow. Come on the Rey!