The Ultimate Breeding Ground: England's Young Hopefuls Pt. 2

As promised here is the second installment of my pick of England's most promising young cricketers, focusing this time on the country's bowling prospects...

Scott Borthwick

As an English legspinner (yes that’s right!), Scott Borthwick will not doubt get his fair share of attention over the coming years, yet whilst many have fallen by the wayside in our island’s futile search for a wristy tweaker, Borthwick has, so far, done little to sully his name. In his relatively short career Borthwick already has a first class hundred to his name and over 60 wickets in the bank. His statistics are not inspiring, but with England cricket at an all-time high and with Graeme Swann the only real established spinner in the England squad he could yet prove useful, especially in the longer format. England’s spin management has been incredibly poor in recent times and even with Graeme Swann you get the feeling his success is largely down to his positive attitude rather than the faith of the selectors. But with Swann as a guiding light and England with enough talent in the bowling department to ease the pressure on young spinners there is no reason why Borthwick cannot one day make a name for himself on the big stage.

James Harris

Sickeningly talented and not yet 22, James Harris has been turning heads in cricket’s upper echelons for over seven years now. A potent bowler and more than useful lower order bat, Harris will not doubt be a hit with England’s new band of allrounders. He made his debut for Glamorgan at just 16 and went on to become the only 17-year-old to ever take a seven wicket haul in Championship cricket. Since then he has featured in numerous England Performance Squads and is now a regular fixture in the England Lions setup. Currently plying his trade in Division Two, Harris will have to consistently outclass his opposition if he is to displace a fit and firing English seam battery, and with the national side clearly smitten with the youngster it may be in his best interests to consider a move to the first division if he can’t carry his team their over the next couple of years. A nugget of advice that I fear may have helped selectors measure Ravi Bopara’s talents more effectively.

Chris Woakes

Calm and controlled, Chris Woakes has both the skill and the temperament to compete at the very highest level. A fleeting exposure to international cricket has found Woakes to be made of tough stuff bagging 6 for 45 against Australia in only his second of four ODIs, and guiding England to victory with the bat in the first of two T20s following England’s Ashes triumph down under. His reputation though has been built on five prolific seasons for Warwickshire. In 61 matches for his county Woakes already boasts four first class centuries and a batting average of 33, as well as 223 wickets at a paltry 24.60 with the cherry in hand. His chances with England whilst successful have perhaps not played to his obvious strengths in the longer format, but if he continues to perform as he has done for his county so far then a spot in the Test team won’t be far away.

Stuart Meaker

It is a general rule of thumb in English cricket that if you can bowl in excess of 90mph then you are afforded at least one try out for the national team in the vague hope that you turn out to be England’s answer to Curtly Ambrose. Stuart Meaker is this generation’s potential guinea pig. Winner of the Daily Telegraph fast bowling award and the first recipient of the ECB’s Harold Larwood Fast Bowling Scholarship to Australia, Meaker is clearly revered by the England hierarchy, yet with less than 30 first class games under his belt it may and probably should be a while before he is considered for honours in Test cricket. He has already played a handful of ODIs, but if he is to have a long and successful career then he must put in the hard yards and prove he has the strength to play for prolonged periods of time and keep the ball whistling past his opponent’s noses for years to come.

Danny Briggs

Modelling his action on childhood hero Daniel Vettori, Danny Briggs has produced some eye-opening performances in his short career so far. His greatest success has been in Twenty20 cricket where he’s amassed 59 wickets in just 41 matches at 15.47 including astonishing figures of 3 for 5 in four overs and a best haul of 5 for 19. At only 20 and having just become a regular in the Hampshire first eleven Briggs, who was born on the Isle of Wight, has many years to hone his tweaking prowess especially in the four and five day formats. Yet his displays in limited overs cricket could help him become an effective one day cricketer for England and earn him much needed exposure as a young spinner.