Pick sees the potential

Liam Dawson's form was one of the major plus points for England U19 this summer

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England Under-19s coach Andy Pick has stressed his side will be “stronger and more experienced” when they tour India and South Africa this winter following an anticlimatic end to their summer.

England’s youngsters are still smarting from this season’s failed bid to scoop a Test and one-day double over counterparts New Zealand, whose itinerary included two Tests and five ODIs.

The home side were looking on course for a commendable brace when they took a 1-0 lead at the beginning of the ODI series, having already captured the Test crown by the same scoreline.

However, a mixture of adverse weather throughout the series and some poor batting in the final game gave the visitors the chance to pounce and scrape a share of the spoils.

The 1-1 draw was made all the more galling by the fact that England had New Zealand 109 for seven in the fourth game at Northampton before rain ended their hopes of wrapping up the series.

Pick, though, remains upbeat and is adamant his players have garnered a wealth of experience from a summer that also consisted a game a rain-affected game against a strong Bangladesh A side.

“It was disappointing the way things turned out,” Pick told ecb.co.uk.

“The way we batted in the last game wasn’t how we wanted to perform and it let us down in what was otherwise an encouraging series against New Zealand in both formats of the game.”

Pick singled out many highlights from what has been a disrupted summer due to the amount of rain that has curtailed their schedule.

“There have been a huge number of positives to take away when we have got out there, and all the way through our side the guys have performed well at various times.

“We have won a Test series and drawn the one-dayers as well as, for the first time ever, playing against an incoming A side which we did well in.

“Greg Smith has come straight into the team and scored back-to-back hundreds, Dan Redfern got a brilliant hundred to save the game and the likes of (Tom) Westley, (Alex) Wakely and the others have all contributed enormously.

Skipper Tom Westley's mature 85 could not stop New Zealand snatching a victory in the final game

“The bowlers have showed their potential with some very good displays and Ben Brown has kept wicket really well over a long period of time.

“Liam Dawson has also done extremely well. He took five wickets for us in the game we tied then moved on to grab a man-of-the-match award for Hampshire in a NatWest Pro40 game shortly afterwards, so his stock has risen quite considerably.”

Pick’s healthy prognosis says much for the structure of the youth set-up, and the former Nottinghamshire seamer also reiterated the merits a competitive U19 side has for both the national and domestic game.

“I’ve said before that a strong age group side hugely benefits English cricket as a whole," he added.

“Alastair Cook played for us and was playing Test cricket two years after that, so it shows the gap between what we offer and Test standard is getting smaller.”

A vital part of the cricketing education that Pick and his department can offer is the prospect of foreign tours, with the trip to India and South Africa next on the agenda.

“The unique selling point of the U19’s is our ability to offer the chance to go on a fully professional representative tour.

“It would be nearly impossible for counties to offer the kinds of experiences we can by taking the players all over the world to sample everything cricket has to offer.

“Players can experience all sorts of things on tour, from the types of culture and the like to being recognised on the street, which helps build their character as well as their cricketing knowledge.

“How they cope with all these things as well as being fully responsible for yourself is key.”

With the touring squads due to be announced in the coming months following a tri-series between an Elite Player Development XI, MCC Universities and the South African Students Sports Union at National Cricket Performance Centre, Pick still has much to do before jetting off to the subcontinent then Cape Town.

Batsman Dan Redfern earned special praise from Pick following his successful summer with England

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“The department will be at the series looking at players we could add to the squad and take on tour.

“It’s about looking at people who have been on our radar but maybe we haven’t had much chance to keep an eye on and see how they are progressing.”

It is the constant cycle of players yet to be unearthed that provides Pick with his greatest challenge as coach, having already seen a glowing number of Test cricketers pass through the junior ranks in the recent past.

“Getting the guys away early and giving them every chance to learn more in conditions that are unlike here in England is what we do best.

“It is not just about the cricket, I remember when we played a game at Eden Gardens in India and the guys looked shell shocked just to be there. It is that sort of experience they can learn from to take forward and you just can’t get that anywhere else.

“We have a large, dedicated group of staff that goes on all the tours, with conditioning coaches, physios and an analyst - so if anybody wants to have a look at any of the player’s performances now at or any time on the future it is all logged and ready to be examined.”

However, despite the professionalism of every tour the U19s embark on there is always one factor Pick is unsure about - the opposition.

He said: “It is hard to keep track of other sides because of the changes each time we play them, but it is always exciting undertaking a new tour even if for most of them we aren’t sure how good the opposition are.”