ECB today announced details of the 2011/12 England Performance Programme which sees two squads of players identified as having the potential to play key roles for England going forward undertaking training blocks in Loughborough, India, South Africa and Sri Lanka during the winter months.

(PHOTO: Yorkshire's Joe Root is one of four Tykes in the EPP setup)

Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Ajmal Shahzad are among 17 players to have been selected on the England Performance Programme (EPP) which consists of a three week training programme at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough in November followed by a training camp in India for batsmen, spin bowlers and wicketkeepers and a training camp in Pochefstroom, South Africa for the fast bowlers.

Players selected for England’s tour of India will have a period of rest on their return at the end of October before joining the EPP. 

ECB Performance Director, David Parsons, said: “The England Performance Programme provides an excellent opportunity for those players identified as having considerable talent to train together in an England environment throughout the winter and further develop as cricketers. The time spent at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough and in India and South Africa allows our national lead coaches to develop bespoke programmes for each member of the squad and work intensively with the players and to continue to assess their readiness to graduate to the full England side when the opportunity arises.

“This is an exciting group of young cricketers with all but three players selected for the England Performance Programme this winter having represented England Lions or England this year. We recognise the need to develop a pool of players who are all capable of playing key roles in international cricket when the need arises and this programme allows us to continue working with those identified as having the ability to perform at the highest level."

The England Lions squad for the tour of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2012 will be selected in December.

England Performance Programme

Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Scott Borthwick (Durham), Danny Briggs (Hampshire), Nathan Buck (Leicestershire), Jos Buttler (Somerset), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), James Harris (Glamorgan), Simon Kerrigan (Lancashire), Tom Maynard (Surrey), Stuart Meaker (Surrey), Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ajmal Shahzad (Yorkshire), James Taylor (Leicestershire), James Vince (Hampshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

In addition, Moin Ashraf has been included in a group of 13 players to have been selected as potential England Performance Programme players and they will undertake a period of training at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough followed by a three week training camp in Colombo, Sri Lanka and a seven week match play element also in Sri Lanka for batsmen and spin bowlers and a training camp in India for the fast bowers.

ECB Performance Director, David Parsons, continued: “This programme allows us to work with a group of players who have shown considerable promise both in age group cricket and in county cricket. Batsmen and spin bowlers will have training blocks in both Loughborough and Sri Lanka as well as a seven week match play opportunity in Sri Lanka giving players a useful opportunity to develop their skills in sub-continent conditions."

"The fast bowlers in the group will undertake a conditioning block in Loughborough before a training camp in India. This has been a key stage in the development of a number of young fast bowlers who have gone to represent England Lions and England with Steven Finn, Stuart Meaker, Jade Dernbach and Chris Woakes all benefiting from this programme in recent years.”

Potential England Performance Programme players

Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Moin Ashraf (Yorkshire), Karl Brown (Lancashire), Varun Chopra (Warwickshire), Matthew Coles (Kent), Matthew Dunn (Surrey), Tymel Mills (Essex), Jigar Naik (Leicestershire), Stephen Parry (Lancashire), Toby Roland-Jones (Middlesex), Alex Wakely (Northamptonshire), Luke Wells (Sussex), Adam Wheater (Essex)