Matthew Fisher and Max Holden to captain England colts on Indian tour

18-year-old Yorkshire paceman Matthew Fisher will return as skipper of the England U19 side for the upcoming series against India in the Indian subcontinent. The England colts will play a five-match ODI series against the Indians before playing two matches of the longer format. However, the twin four-day matches will see the Brits be captained by Middlesex batsman Max Holden.

All five of the ODI matches will be played in Mumbai with the venues alternating between the Brabourne Stadium and the Wankhede Stadium. Both the youth Test matches will be played at the M Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, which was the host of the final Test match against India and England quite recently. The ODI series will begin on the 30th of January and the tour will conclude with the second Test match at Chennai on the 24th of February.

David Graveney, a former England cricketer, and the Under-19s chairman also went on to endorse the fact that the lads need to be exposed to other playing conditions rather than just the UK conditions.

David Graveney, the Under-19s chairman of selectors, said: “Touring India at any level is challenging, as the senior England team would confirm. But that is why it is so valuable to be able to expose our best young players to these challenges at Under-19 level.

“We expect the India team to be very strong, as they showed in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year and again in the Asia Cup, under the supervision of Rahul Dravid. So this is a huge opportunity for the 15 players who have been selected, especially with a return series against India at home next summer.

“It is a major boost to have the ability and experience of Matthew Fisher back in the squad. He was a key figure in England’s success in the 2014 Under-19 World Cup in Dubai, and after he was affected by injuries in the 2016 summer this is a good opportunity for him to test himself against his contemporaries in different conditions in India.”

England Under-19s squad:

Matthew Fisher (one-day captain), Max Holden (four-day captain), Harry Brook, George Bartlett, Euan Woods, Will Jacks, Delray Rawlins, Ollie Pope, Tom Banton, Liam Patterson-White, Louie Shaw, Aaron Beard, Jack Blatherwick, Henry Brookes, Jack Bruce