Worcestershire duo earn call-up to England Lions squad

Haynes, 21, and Tongue, 25, have both been selected for the Test format team while Warwickshire’s Jacob Bethell and Sam Hain have been selected for the limited overs format squad.

Haynes, from Kidderminster, has represented England at under-19 level and played 32 first-class matches for Worcestershire, with an average of just under 38 with the bat.

Quick bowler Tongue has also played for England under-19s and was selected for the Lions tour to Australia but later suffered a series of injuries including a stress fracture of the back and another to his left foot as well as an elbow problem.

The Lions are scheduled to play two four-day Tests against Sri Lanka A in Galle from January 31 followed by three ODIs in Colombo from February 15.

Two 16-man squads have been named, with Test-capped trio Alex Lees, Haseeb Hameed and Matt Fisher – who made his Test debut alongside Mahmood against the West Indies last year – part of the red-ball group.

Bethell, Tom Prest and James Rew, who were all part of the England team that reached the ICC Under-19s World Cup final last year, have been called up for the white-ball leg.

Four players have been named in both squads – Fisher, Tom Abell, Sam Cook and Tom Hartley – with a total of 28 selected across the two formats.

ECB performance director Mo Bobat said: “This is a really exciting opportunity to expose players to the challenges of playing A-team cricket in the sub-continent, which will be fantastic for their development.

“The series also provides us with the chance to observe the players ahead of this year’s World Cup as well as next winter’s Test series in India.

“The squads have been selected with careful consideration of each player’s individual programme. We’ve worked closely with the counties to understand the players’ best interests as we map their development opportunities. In some cases that includes enabling players to play in domestic franchise cricket.

“The ODI squad takes into account the strength in depth that we have across a number of key roles in our England men’s white-ball teams and many of the players will join us directly from cricket they’ve been playing elsewhere, in Australia, South Africa or the UAE. After a hugely exciting and successful first half of the winter for our Test and Twenty20 teams, I am sure the Lions players will be suitably motivated to make the most of this opportunity.”

The red-ball tour is scheduled to begin with with a three-day warm-up match in Colombo from January 25.

Lions Test squad: Tom Abell (Somerset), Josh Bohannon (Lancashire), Jack Carson (Sussex), Sam Cook (Essex), Matt Fisher (Yorkshire), Nathan Gilchrist (Kent), Tom Haines (Sussex), Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire), Tom Hartley (Lancashire), Jack Haynes (Worcestershire), Lyndon James (Nottinghamshire), Alex Lees (Durham), Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire), Ollie Robinson (Durham), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Josh Tongue (Worcestershire).

Lions ODI squad: Tom Abell (Somerset), Tom Banton (Somerset), Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Cook (Essex), Jordan Cox (Kent), Mason Crane (Hampshire), Matt Critchley (Essex), Matt Fisher (Yorkshire), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Tom Hartley (Lancashire), Tom Lammonby (Somerset), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Tom Prest (Hampshire), James Rew (Somerset), Luke Wood (Lancashire).