Mullaney, Northeast named captains for North-South series

Nottinghamshire's Steven Mullaney and Kent's Sam Northeast have been named as captains for the England and Wales Cricket Board's North-South series which will be played in the West Indies in March.

The series, which consists of three 50-over matches at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, will pit the leading limited overs players in England - outside of the senior team - against each other under the watchful eye of the selectors and some national coaches. The purpose is to provide opportunities for players who otherwise might not get much exposure to the national set-up with the aim of helping develop England's one-day team ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

The 2017 series, the first of its kind, was played in the UAE and was won comfortably by the South team 3-0 but much of the feedback was that the players and national coaches found the experience extremely useful. Certain players such as leg-spinner Mason Crane, who has just made his Test debut at the SCG, advanced their international credentials and Andrew Strauss, Director, England Cricket and Head Coach Trevor Bayliss, often criticised for not watching

enough county cricket, were both in the UAE to take note.

Given the aim of this series is for those playing to show what they can do in front of England's selectors and coaches, the scheduling of this year's series seems slightly wrongheaded, however. Whereas last year, England were not in action which meant Bayliss and his assistant coaches Paul Farbrace and Ottis Gibson, now South Africa's Head Coach, could be involved, this year the series takes place during England's Test tour to New Zealand which means Bayliss and Farbrace will not be there.

The selectors have chosen two experienced players to lead the squads. All-rounder Mullaney, who will captain the North team, has recently taken over the Nottinghamshire captaincy from retiring wicket-keeper Chris Read and played an important part in the county's Royal London One-Day Cup victory last season. South captain Northeast is regarded as one of the sharpest captaincy minds in the country and has been a consistent run-scorer for Kent in all formats of the game.

There are also a number of players in both squads who have been selected to tour the Caribbean with the England Lions before the North-South series including Lancashire's Keaton Jennings and Hampshire's Liam Dawson, both of whom have represented the senior team in the past year. Northamptonshire batsman Ben Duckett, fined and warned about his future conduct after pouring beer over James Anderson's head in a bar during the recent Ashes tour, has also been selected.

The top four players from each of the one-day competition's two groups, selected using the Professional Cricketers' Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) Rankings, are invited to play in the series while the rest of the squads and coaching staffs are chosen by England's selectors. This year, just three out of eight of the top ranked players in the MVP Rankings, are available to play which has allowed the selectors to promote some younger talent.

"We believe these are two exciting squads which again underline the value of this North-South Series as an opportunity for us to see some strong contenders for white-ball cricket playing at a higher level of competition and intensity. The unavailability of several of the players who had earned automatic invitations means the squads are tilted more towards youth and potential this year.

"The North squad has six players aged 21 or under, and the South squad includes four 20-year-olds plus Sam Curran, who is still only 19. Some of the players we have selected have very limited List A experience with their counties. But in those cases their potential has already been identified with selection on the ECB's International Pathway.

"For example Delray Rawlins is currently in Sydney on an Overseas Placement, and we have included three fast bowlers currently training with the Pace Programme - Zak Chappell in the North squad, and Paul Walter and Tom Helm with the South.

"But it is also a good opportunity for more experienced players who have impressed in the county game, such as Steven Mullaney, Brett D'Oliveira, John Simpson and Sam Northeast, to show the selectors and England coaches what they can do at a higher level."

The North squad will be coached by Durham's Paul Collingwood who is currently England's assistant coach on their tour of Australia while the South team will be coached by Mark Ramprakash who is England's Test batting coach. He will be assisted by the Lions' head coach Andy Flower while Collingwood will be assisted by Nottinghamshire's Paul Franks who was appointed in recognition of his contribution towards the county's Royal London One-Day Cup win.

Squads

North: S Mullaney (Notts, captain), S Hain (Warwickshire*), B Duckett (Northamptonshire), J Clarke (Worcestershire), K Jennings (Lancashire), B D'Oliveira (Worcestershire), A Davies (Lancashire, wk), P Coughlin (Notts), M Fisher (Yorkshire), S Mahmood (Lancashire), R Gleeson (Northamptonshire), Z Chappell (Leicestershire), M Parkinson (Lancashire).

South: S Northeast (Kent, captain), D Bell-Drummond (Kent*), N Gubbins (Middlesex), D Lawrence (Essex), D Rawlins (Sussex), L Dawson (Hampshire), J Simpson (Middlesex, wk), S Curran (Surrey), P Walter (Essex), D Bess (Somerset), T Helm (Middlesex), J Porter (Essex), G Garton (Sussex).

*Means automatic qualification through PCA MVP Rankings