Surrey’s Ralphie Albert and Alex French have been included in England U19s squad for a three-match Youth ODI series against South Africa
All-rounder Albert, who featured for Surrey in their opening Rothesay County Championship match of the season away at Warwickshire, has been a consistent member of the Young Lions squad for a number of years.
Seam bowler French, who played in the 2025 Metro Bank One Day Cup before signing a full-time contract with Surrey, has also been a key part of the England U19 squad over the past twelve months.
Uncapped trio Charlie Harmison, Tom Norton and Harry Wallace have been called up to the Young Lions squad for the first time.
Six players who were a part of England’s run to the ICC Men’s U19s World Cup final earlier this year are selected – Ralphie Albert, Ben Dawkins, Will Bennison, Ali Farooq, Alex French and James Minto. Rocky Flintoff and Jack Nelson return after injury ruled them out of the U19s World Cup.
England Men U19s squad:
Ralphie Albert (Surrey)
Will Bennison (Yorkshire)
Ben Dawkins (Kent)
Ali Farooq (Leicestershire)
Rocky Flintoff (Lancashire)
Alex French (Surrey)
Charlie Harmison (Durham)
Byron Hatton-Lowe (Nottinghamshire)
James Minto (Durham)
Tom Norton (Glamorgan)
Jack Nelson (Middlesex)
Harry Wallace (Glamorgan)
England Men U19s head coach, Michael Yardy, said: “We have an exciting summer of Under-19s fixtures ahead of us, firstly with South Africa and then later in the summer versus Pakistan.
“We’ve named a smaller squad for the upcoming Youth ODIs against South Africa as it is important to have some flexibility with so many Under-19s players featuring in the Vitality Blast.
“It’s always great to have some new faces in the group and it will exciting to watch them put in performances in an England shirt for the first time.”
A 13-player Invitational U19s squad has also been selected for two warm-up games ahead of the series.
The U19s Invitational squad will play both England Men U19s (26 June) and South Africa Men U19s (27 June) at the Hazlegrave Ground in Loughborough before the YODI series begins at the Uptonsteel County Ground in Leicester on Tuesday 30 June.
England Men U19s v South Africa Men U19s schedule:
Friday 26 June – Warm-up match, England Men U19s v Invitational U19s XI; Hazlegrave Ground, Loughborough
Saturday 27 June – Warm-up match, South Africa A v Invitational U19s XI; Hazlegrave Ground, Loughborough
Tuesday 30 June – 1st YODI; Uptonsteel Grace Road, Leicester
Friday 3 July – 2nd YODI; cinch County Ground, Northampton
Monday 6 July – 3rd YODI; The County Ground, Beckenham
Friday 10 July – 1st Youth Test; The County Ground, Beckenham
Friday 17 July – 2nd Youth Test; The County Ground, Hove
