England Lions will begin a white-ball series against the Pakistan Shaheens in the UAE later this week.
While the T20 World Cup plays out in the foreground, there’s more reason than normal to pay close attention to the Lions action. Despite currently being in the middle of a trophy bid, England’s white-ball squads are far from settled. Particularly in the 50-over camp, England were on a long losing streak before their series win in Sri Lanka, and there is plenty of room for new and returning challengers before next year’s ODI World Cup.
The Lions squads, who will be captained by Jordan Cox in the T20s and Dan Mousley in the 50-over games, gives an opportunity to see who is currently top of the list of those knocking at the door. They also highlight some interesting stories from the county game, as well as players finding what their place might be in England’s future.
Jordan Cox
Having spent the last year in and out of England squads without breaking into the mainstream, it’s a slight surprise that Cox hasn’t been as involved in England’s winter as he could have been. He was an outside bet to be England’s spare bat for the Ashes, and more than that for their T20 World Cup squad. Instead, he was in the Lions squad which toured Australia before resuming his annual winter franchise duties. An impressive season in the ILT20 was followed by a dismal one in the SA20. An interesting 12 months awaits for Cox, having been poised for higher honours for some time, included in both Test and white-ball squads. A red-ball reset and busy white-ball summer will provide fresh opportunities.
James Coles
Coles' stock has been rising over the last two years, with an impressive end to the domestic summer followed by a first winter on the franchise circuit. In his maiden SA20 match, he scored a rapid half-century and took two wickets to secure Sunrisers Eastern Cape a position in the playoffs. He then went on to score an unbeaten 45 in the Qualifier to take them to the final. A middle-order batting all-rounder, Coles has risen through the ranks at Sussex after becoming their youngest-ever first-class debutant in 2020. While Coles is still on the periphery, England’s Shoaib Bashir omission during the Ashes has left the door open on how they see the role of a spinner in their Test side going forward. Coles fits the bill of lengthening a batting lineup while also keeping things tidy with the ball.
Sam Cook
This time 12 months ago, Cook was the next seamer off the county ranks, favoured for his returns with the Kookaburra ball in the 2024 County Championship, and during a winter Lions tour to Australia. However, a lukewarm Test debut against Zimbabwe pushed him back several pegs, and he didn’t feature in England’s summer series against India despite injuries to several of their senior seamers. It still feels like Cook is further away from Test selection than he was this time last year, but the white-ball arena is less clear. He was decent in last year’s Hundred, despite conceding the most expensive five-ball set in the competition's history, but has always been more highly regarded for his skills with the red ball. The Lions tour is a chance to see how he could fit a slightly different mould.
Scott Currie
Currie’s first selection for England last summer unfortunately ended the then-unknown possibility that he could feature in the T20 World Cup. Having been named on an England teamsheet, despite not making his debut, he was subsequently unavailable to play for Scotland when they replaced Bangladesh, although his brother Brad did make the squad. Currie decided to pursue playing for England after Scotland 'failed' to qualify for the T20 World Cup, but that decision was the one that unknowingly counted him out of appearing when Scotland were handed a late reprieve. Breaking into England’s white-ball sides properly would vindicate that decision, and he might not be that far off. The World Cup has highlighted England’s lack of proper top-and-tail pacers. Currie took 27 wickets in last year’s Blast, doing the majority of his work at the death.
Nathan Sowter
Sowter has one of the most interesting stories in the county game. Born in Australia, he was released by Middlesex in 2022 when he was 30. With no contract lined up, he managed to sign with Durham over the winter, and cleaned up for Oval Invincibles the following summer, finishing joint with Adil Rashid on the Hundred's wicket-taking charts. England have formed a new white-ball spin-duo with Liam Dawson and Rashid, but there’s still the question of what comes next when Rashid steps away. Along with Rehan Ahmed, Sowter is one of the wrist-spinners waiting in line.
Asa Tribe
Tribe is another whose stocks have risen fast. A Jersey international with 31 international caps, he made his senior debut for Glamorgan in 2024 and earned his first Lions call-up for their series in Australia at the back-end of last year. He scored an unbeaten hundred against Australia A before flying out to play for Paarl Royals in the SA20. While there, he smashed a 34-ball 51 against an MI Cape Town bowling attack which contained Trent Boult, Kagiso Rabada and Rashid Khan. This series marks his first call-up to a Lions white-ball squad, showing how fast his ascension to England’s fringes has been.
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