Foster called up for Lions

Wicketkeeper James Foster and bowlers Charlie Shreck and Steve Kirby have been called up to the England Lions squad. The trio will serve as replacements for the injury Kabir Ali and Steven Davies.

Davies has sustained a knee injury and Ali is yet to recover from an ankle injury. The selectors have named an additional player to the squad as a precaution.

Over the past four seasons Foster has performed admirably for Essex, scoring 3457 runs at an average of 43. Chairman of selectors David Graveney admitted that Foster was considered when the England touring parties were initially named. He played 7 Tests for England between 2001 and 2002, averaging 25.11 in that time.

“Being involved with the England Lions puts players in the shop window for the full team so it’s good to be in there showing what I have to offer,” commented Foster to the official Essex website. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had some England recognition but I never gave up hope.”

Shreck and Kirby are uncapped at international level, but have played well at county level in recent seasons. In 2007 they took 47 and 41 wickets respectively.

“It was a surprise to get the call, to say the least,” said Shreck. “I hadn’t even been looking at the news to see when the Lions were touring, I was just concentrating on my cricket with Wellington.”

After much speculation over the role of Andrew Flintoff in his recovery from ankle surgery, the ECB has announced that he will not be joining the Lions in India. There was talk that the allrounder would play as a specialist batsman, but the ECB has stated that he will instead continue his rehabilitation with Lancashire.

The England Lions will participate in the Duleep Trophy.

England Lions squad
Michael Yardy (capt), Michael Carberry, Joe Denly, James Foster, James Hildreth, Ed Joyce, Steve Kirby, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Alan Richardson, Charlie Shreck, Jonathan Trott