Gloucestershire's Steve Kirby has been included in the England Lions squad that will tour the United Arab Emirates next month.
Kirby's fantastic 2009 season has earned him the call up for the tour, which includes a fixture against the senior England team.
The 32-year-old has been rewarded for a fine effort in county cricket - 64 county championship wickets at 22.18 - and now has the opportunity to impress at the next level. He still harbours ambitions to represent his country at senior level and will relish further chances to impress the selectors - particularly with the tour party to Bangladesh being announced immediately after the Lions' fixtures.
The one-day tour takes place throughout February and begins with a Twenty20 match against the UAE in Sharjah, followed by two Twenty20 games against Pakistan A at the same venue before a third in Abu Dhabi, also the scene for a T20 against the senior England side. The party then move to Dubai for three 50-over matches against Pakistan A to complete the tour.
The squad includes Ian Bell who is being given an opportunity to stake a claim for a return to the England one-day setup.
Full squad: AW Gale (captain, Yorkshire), IR Bell (Warwickshire), MA Carberry (Hampshire), MJ Lumb (Hampshire), JWA Taylor (Leicestershire), C Kieswetter (wkt, Somerset), SM Davies (wkt, Surrey), PD Trego (Somerset), JC Tredwell (Kent), AU Rashid (Yorkshire), SI Mahmood (Lancashire), CR Woakes (Warwickshire), ST Finn (Middlesex), SP Kirby (Gloucestershire), DJ Wainwright (Yorkshire).
Is Kirby, as a quick, now too old, at 32, to harbour realistic ambitions of playing for the England test side?
ReplyDeleteMany would say so but all he can do is keep taking wickets. He's certainly got a great deal of cricket left in him and it's upto him to grab these opportunities.
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ReplyDeleteHats off to Kirby, let's hope he takes this opportunity and shows all what he can do!
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