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the 23-year-old has shown neat
work behind the stumps while
impressing with the bat. A brutal
135 not out from 58 balls against
Somerset in the Royal London
Cup and a steady average in the
Championship meant he was
called up for the Lions’ trip to
South Africa this winter.
7
Will Gidman
Overlooked for this winter’s
overseas tours despite hitting
826 runs and taking 39 wickets in
last year’s County Championship
second division, the allrounder
has since joined Nottinghamshire
from Gloucestershire. Following
his departure from Durham where
he failed to make the grade in 2010,
Gidman has averaged under 21
with the ball in three seasons to
have an overall first-class bowling
average of 22 and 40 with the bat.
At the age of 29, time probably
isn’t on his side, but if he performs
similarly in Division One such
efforts can’t be ignored.
8
Craig Overton
Born and bred in north Devon
with his twin brother Jamie,
the strapping allrounder finally
put his stamp on the Somerset
first team in 2014 as he picked up
40 Championship wickets and
managed 431 runs with the bat.The
20-year-old’s workload needs to be
managed as he is recovering from
an ankle injury but he could become
an England regular in the near
future provided he kicks on from
last season’s performances.
9
Mark Wood
England’s best bowler on the
flat pitches of South Africa on
the Lions tour, the Durham bowler
bounced back from an injury-
blighted 2014 to impress the South
African’s with his skiddy swingers.
The 25-year-old has picked up 74
wickets in just 23 first-class games
and has the ideal bowling group
at Durham to learn off established
performers Graham Onions and
Chris Rushworth.
10
Adam Riley
Since the sudden retirement
of Graeme Swann during the
2013–14 Ashes tour, the England
management have been crying out
for a world-class spinner to arrive.
While Moeen Ali has done a sterling
job, a specialist spinner would be
welcome. Forty-eight wickets at a
shade over 30 apiece in the County
Championship last summer, for a
young spinner, suggests promise.
11
Jack Brooks
The headband-wearing Brooks
just looks for wickets as others
toil around him. Sixty-eight scalps,
the second most in the country in
2014, was a fine effort for someone
who didn’t make his first-class debut
till 2009. Two-hundred and twenty-
six wickets later and he is being
talked about as a potential England
international at the age of 30.
David Sillifant is studying sports
journalism at Southampton Solent
University
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ifhe
performs
similarlyin
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