Laurie Evans & Ollie Robinson in Lions squads for Australia Tour

Sussex’s Laurie Evans and Ollie Robinson have been named in the England Lions squads for the tour of Australia next month.

Laurie has been named in a 16-man squad for five 50-over matches against Cricket Australia and New South Wales XIs.

Surprisingly, given his record over recent seasons, this is his first call up for the Lions. The right-handed batsman has averaged 53.7 in List-A cricket over the past four English summers. During that time he’s made 1,181 runs including three hundreds and three fifties.

Ollie – who made his Lions debut against Australia this summer – is part of a 15-man squad for three four-day matches against Cricket Australia XI, Australia A and New South Wales XI.

The skilful right-arm seamer has been in scintillating form over the past two County Championship seasons, taking 63 wickets in eleven appearances in 2019 and 74 scalps in 14 matches in the previous year’s competition.

National Selector Ed Smith said: “We’ve selected two exciting squads for our Lions’ tour of Australia, where the aim is not only to win matches but to prepare players for international cricket.

“With this tour we’ve got England’s short-term needs in mind, with the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka and a busy summer schedule, as well as an opportunity to provide players with relevant experience for future Ashes series.

“Australia is a tough place to tour as an England player at any level, so it will be a great test for all involved.”

ECB Performance Director Mo Bobat added: “In addition to meeting England’s Test needs, one of our goals is to broaden and strengthen our white-ball talent pool in order to deliver sustained success across both formats. We have some exciting young players travelling in the squad this winter who we believe have what it takes to step up in the future. With several young players selected for the England ODI tour of South Africa, the Lions can provide a developmental opportunity to an extended group of players.

“In selecting our squads, we have given careful consideration to players who have been presented with franchise cricket opportunities and, for some, these competitive experiences are exactly what they need at this stage of their development.

“Our selections have been underpinned by progressive discussions with the counties about each player’s best interest and I’d like to thank the counties for their collaborative approach to informing our decision-making.”

England Lions 50-over squad

Tom Abell (Somerset)

Dom Bess (Somerset)

James Bracey (Gloucestershire)

Henry Brookes (Warwickshire)

Brydon Carse (Durham)

Mason Crane (Hampshire)

Laurie Evans (Sussex)

Richard Gleeson (Lancashire)

Lewis Gregory (Somerset)

Sam Hain (Warwickshire)

Will Jacks (Surrey)

Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Yorkshire)

Dan Lawrence (Essex)

Matt Milnes (Kent)

Tom Moores (Nottinghamshire)

Craig Overton (Somerset)

England Lions four-day squad

Dom Bess (Somerset)

James Bracey (Gloucestershire)

Zak Crawley (Kent)

Richard Gleeson (Lancashire)

Lewis Gregory (Somerset)

Sam Hain (Warwickshire)

Keaton Jennings (Lancashire)

Dan Lawrence (Essex)

Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)

Sam Northeast (Hampshire)

Craig Overton (Somerset)

Ollie Robinson (Kent)

Ollie Robinson (Sussex)

Dominic Sibley (Warwickshire)

Amar Virdi (Surrey)

England Lions tour of Australia

Sun 2 February: One-day match v Cricket Australia XI – Metricon, Gold Coast

Tue 4 February: One-day match v Cricket Australia XI – Metricon, Gold Coast

Thu 6 February: One-day match v Cricket Australia XI – Metricon, Gold Coast

Sun 9 February: One-day match v New South Wales XI – Drummoyne Oval, Sydney

Tue 11 February: One-day match v New South Wales XI – Drummoyne Oval, Sydney

Sat 15 February-Tue 18 February: Four-day match v Cricket Australia XI – Blundstone Arena, Hobart

Sat 22 February-Tue 25 February: Four-day match v Australia A – MCG, Melbourne (D/N)

Mon 2 March-Thu 5 March: Four-day match v New South Wales XI – North Dalton Park, Wollongong