Farhan Ahmed, 17-year-old brother of England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed, will captain England U19s for the first time on their tour of the Caribbean in November.
Farhan Ahmed to lead England U19
Ahmed will lead a 17-player squad for the series which consists of seven youth ODIs against West Indies and the USA, and is part of preparation for the U19 World Cup which will be played in Namibia and Zimbabwe early next year. His elevation to captaincy comes at the end of a breakthrough summer for Ahmed. He made his Hundred debut for Manchester Originals after replacing Marchant de Lange for the duration of the tournament. He also was a feature of Nottinghamshire's T20 Blast campaign, including taking a hat-trick against Lancashire.
England U19 squad
Farhan Ahmed (c), Ralphi Albert, Will Bennison, Ben Dawkins, Caleb Falconer, Jamie Feldman, Matthew Firbank, Alex French, Alex Green, Manny Lumsden, Ben Mayes, James Minto, Isaac Mohammad, Sebastian Morgan, Joe Moores, Jack Nelson, Charlie Taylor.
While Ahmed has never previously captained England U19s, he has featured often for them over the last few years. He played in the last U19 World Cup in 2024, taking five wickets in the tournament aged just 15. He also took a nine-wicket-haul in an U19 Test in South Africa earlier this year.
His elevation to captaincy of the side comes after Thomas Rew, who captained England U19s in their series against India this summer, was called-up to the Lions squad to tour Australia. Rew, also 17, will join his older brother James in that squad, which also features Ahmed's older brother Rehan.
England Men U19s Head Coach, Michael Yardy, said: “Farhan has been exceptional whenever he has been with the U19s squad and he deservedly gets the opportunity to captain the team for this tour and show his leadership qualities.
Elsewhere in the squad, Surrey spinning all-rounder Ralphie Albert has been included after making his first-class debut in the final round of the County Championship. Albert took figures of 2-9 in 11 overs across both innings. He also took a 10-wicket-haul in a youth Test against India U19s earlier this summer.
England U19 tour of Caribbean schedule
November 13: ENG U19 v USA U19, ODI, St Vincent
November 16: ENG U19 v WI U19, ODI, St Vincent
November 19: ENG U19 v USA U19, ODI, St Vincent
November 22: ENG U19 v WI U19, U19, ODI, St Vincent
November 25: ENG U19 v WI U19, ODI, St Vincent
November 28: ENG U19 v WI U19, ODI, St Vincent
December 1: ENG U19 v WI U19, ODI, St Vincent
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