22 Dec 2015 | Cricket
Glamorgan teenage batsman Aneurin Donald has been selected in the England squad for the forthcoming ICC Under-19s World Cup in Bangladesh.
Aneurin Donald, who made his Glamorgan debut in 2014 and captained the Under-19s in their Royal London One-Day Series against Australia last summer, is recalled after missing the recent triangular tournament against India and Sri Lanka in Colombo.
The 18-year-old academy graduate scored 59 on his first-class debut against Hampshire in the final game of 2014 and following the completion of his A-Levels earlier this summer, made regular appearances for Glamorgan before narrowly missing out on a maiden championship century with a career-best 98 against Gloucestershire in the last match of the 2015 season.
Donald who celebrated his19th birthday two days ago is spending the winter at the Darren Lehman Cricket Academy in Adelaide in a bid to hone his burgeoning talent.
David Graveney OBE, the National Performance Manager and chairman of selectors, said: Aneurin had the opportunity to go and play in Adelaide for the last couple of months.
He's enjoyed that and done really well, and we think he's in a good place to come back into our squad and give our batting a boost.
Brad Taylor has been confirmed as England's captain for the forthcoming ICC Under-19s World Cup in Bangladesh. The Hampshire offspinner is joined by his county team-mate Mason Crane and several other players with senior experience for the 50-over tournament, which starts on January 26.
Dan Lawrence of Essex will be Taylor's vice-captain and the squad also includes the Durham batsman Jack Burnham, Somerset wicketkeeper Ryan Davies, Lancashire fast bowler Saqib Mahmood and Surrey allrounder Sam Curran - all of whom made their county debuts in 2015, Davies for Kent and Curran taking 42 wickets in 23 appearances for Surrey in all competitions.
Somerset have three players in the squad with Davies joined by Ben Green and George Bartlett, who are still at school at Exeter and Millfield respectively.
We have been building towards this competition for some time added Graveney, I think we're a lot further down the road than we were before the last Under-19s World Cup in Dubai two years ago. England finished third in that tournament which was a fine achievement and there is no reason why this squad could not do as well or even better than that.
The team have spent the last three weeks in Sri Lanka and although the results were disappointing, it was a valuable learning experience against two very talented teams in conditions similar to those we expect to find in Bangladesh.
He had the opportunity to go and play in Adelaide for the last couple of months. He's enjoyed that and done really well, and we think he's in a good place to come back into our squad and give our batting a boost.
After a Christmas break, the squad will leave for a week of practice in Dubai on January 14, including a warm-up match against South Africa on January 18, before flying on to Bangladesh two days later.
England will open their campaign against Fiji in Chittagong on January 27, with further group games against West Indies and Zimbabwe.
This will be the 11th running of the tournament since it began in 1988, with England's sole win coming 10 years later when a team captained by Owais Shah and including Graeme Swann and Rob Key beat New Zealand in the final in Johannesburg.
England squad for ICC Under-19 World Cup, Bangladesh, January 26 - February 14
George Bartlett - Somerset
Jack Burnham - Durham
Mason Crane - Hampshire
Sam Curran - Surrey
Ryan Davies - Somerset
Aneurin Donald - Glamorgan
George Garton - Sussex
Ben Green - Somerset
Max Holden - Middlesex
Dan Lawrence (Vice Captain) - Essex
Saqib Mahmood - Lancashire
Tom Moores - Nottinghamshire
Brad Taylor (Captain) - Hampshire
Callum Taylor - Essex
Jared Warner - Yorkshire