We finalise our brief look at the top eleven up and coming talented youngsters who will be on display in county cricket over the English summer. The qualifiers are all under the age of 23 and are looking to establish themselves in their respective county sides this season.
Moeen Ali (20) – Worcestershire – Left Hand Top Order Batsman / Right Arm Offbreak Bowler
Ali is an explosive and exciting player who likes to dominate the opposition. He once smashed a century off just 56 balls against Sri Lanka U19’s and he is a confident leader. He has mainly been used at the top of the order in limited overs cricket to date, where he has plundered a century and four fifties in just 19 innings. He will be hoping for more first class action this year and with his talent he should get it. Ali is also a good offspin bowler, which makes him a formidable allround player. Brother, Kadeer, plays for Gloucestershire, whilst cousin, Kabir, is also based at New Road and the early signs are that Moeen can outshine them both.
Alex Wakely (19) – Northants – Right Hand Middle Order Batsman / Right Arm Medium-Fast Bowler
Wakely captained England U19’s at the 2008 World Cup and has performed admirably at that level. He has yet to translate his undoubted ability and performances at U19 level into first team county cricket however, although he has notched up two fifties in the County Championship to date. He possesses every shot in the book and is also a capable support bowler. However, he needs to improve under pressure, when the going isn’t so good. This will be a big year for him.
The IX Young Pretenders for 2008
Billy Godleman
Mark Stoneman
Alex Wakely
Tom Westley
Laurie Evans
Moeen Ali
Chris Jordan
Liam Dawson
James Harris
Tom Smith
Steven Finn
NB: Gary Wilson and Tom Burrows are the wicket keepers to watch but they are unlikely to gain as much exposure to first team cricket this time out. Craig Kieswetter meanwhile has already made his breakthrough and it will be interesting to see how he fairs in division one.
6 comments:
Great work on the XI Chris! Like the look of two Surrey players there. Would say the bowlers look better prospects than the batsmen - and most of them can bat too!
I would agree with that. Jordon, Finn and Harris would form a more than useful attack. Godleman, Ali and possibly Westly look the most exciting batsmen.
Good job on this Chris. There is certainly some exciting talent out there. From a Yorkshire point of view, other than the boy wonder Rashid himself, I would put up Adam Lyth and Greg Wood, both of whom will be looking at making a breakthough this season. Lyth is an elegant left hander and scored a ton for England U19 last season. Wood is a wicketkeeper/ batsman.
Of your team, Jordan has the most pressure on him this season as he could make or break Surrey's season. I'm be interested to see how Wakely goes, as Northants need a boost from somewhere.
Yes, apologies for the non-inclusion of a Yorkshire youngster. I figured that everyone already knows about Rashid, so tried to unearth some less polished/known gems. I think Adam Lyth could have a good season for you. It is probably between him, Taylor and Gale for that last middle order slot.
Will be fascinating to see how they all go. I'll review come the season's end and prehaps at the halfway stage.
No worries about Rashid. The amount of fuss that Sky in particular make over him gets embarrasing at times. Taylor will open when Vaughan isn't around. Gale will start the season, but Lyth should keep the pressure on.
No worries about Rashid. The amount of fuss that Sky in particular make over him gets embarrasing at times. Taylor will open when Vaughan isn't around. Gale will start the season, but Lyth should keep the pressure on.
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