Ramprakash pays tribute to Chris Jordan after Lions stint

England Lions head coach, Mark Ramprakash has paid a glowing tribute to Chris Jordan as he prepares to link up with England’s T20 squad ahead of the Vitality IT20 matches against Australia and India.

Jordan, who was a late inclusion in the Lions squad after Craig Overton’s call into the England one-day set-up, produced a match-changing over against the West Indies in Derby on Saturday, dismissing the dangerous Jermaine Blackwood for 40 with his fifth ball and trapping Devon Thomas lbw to complete a double wicket maiden.

He ended with three for 25 from eight overs, after taking one for 47 from nine in the Lions’ opening victory over India on Friday, and Ramprakash said: “I can’t speak highly enough of how he has gone about his business, on and off the field.

“In CJ we’ve seen someone who’s very comfortable in his own skin. He’s shown great maturity, he’s spoken well in team meetings, he’s got great experience now with several IPL competitions behind him. His action and run-up is very smooth, he’s been very accurate, he’s bowled with good pace, obviously he’s an excellent fielder and he can bat. So he’s the sort of cricketer that any team would want. We’re sorry to see him go, although obviously we understand that’s one of the roles of the Lions, playing our part to get players ready to perform for England.”