Livingstone, Foster, Thompson and Bhamji in LCCC squad
Barrow's Liam Livingstone |
Lancashire CCC have named their Academy squad for 2010 and it contains a strong Northern League influence.
No less than four of the ten elite young cricketers named in the squad played in the Furness Building Society Northern Premier Cricket League (incorporating Readers Cricket Balls) in 2009.
Barrow's all-rounder Liam Livingstone, who was recently nominated AllOut Cricketer of the Year, starts his second year with the Academy.
He will be joined in the squad by the Leyland pair of Henry Thompson and Tom Foster and Darwen's opening bowler Yakub Bhamji.
Thompson is a prolific scoring batsman at schools level and impressed with some mature performances for Leyland in 2009, notably in steering his side home to victory against Liverpool Competition side Lytham in the ECB National Knock-Out.
Leyland's Henry Thompson |
Foster, a right-handed bat and left-arm medium pace bowler was highly impressive in his first season at Northern League cricket and both players have benefited from the advice and coaching of Leyland captain David Makinson, a former Lancashire player.
Bhamji has been given an opportunity to regularly open the bowling for Darwen in the last two seasons and regularly troubles the best batsmen in the league. He is a fast emerging young cricketer who together with Kamran Anwar and Alex Davies will hopefully form the backbone of the Darwen side for years to come.
The squad of ten players is expected to form the backbone of the Lancashire Colts side that will play in the league in 2010.
Leyland's Tom Foster |
Lancashire Colts plan for 2010
On making the announcement, Academy Director John Stanworth said; We have very high expectations for our Academy Members, and this is why we have a very thorough and stringent selection process. We are always looking to raise the bar and challenge those players in the programme.
The players will train at Old Trafford as a squad and as individuals during the winter months. At times they will practice along side members from the First-Team squad, providing further inspiration and insight during their development.
2010 will see the introduction of a Lancashire Colts side in the Northern League where it's hoped many of these cricketers will have the opportunity to play together on a regular basis and put what they have learnt into practice against strong opposition.
The Full Lancashire Academy squad is:
Liam Livingstone (Barrow)
Yakub Bhamji (Darwen)
Henry Thompson (Leyland)
Tom Foster (Leyland)
Chris Connolly (Chester BH)
Luke Perry (Farnworth SC)
Joe Davies (Leigh)
Jack Dewhurst (Clitheroe)
Muhammad Abid and Will Chapples.
Further details are on the Lancashire CC website:
"http://www.lccc.co.uk/index.php?p=news&id=3359"
Yakub Bhamji bowls to St Annes skipper Andy Kellett |
