Chappell earns North-South Series selection

Leicestershire CCC is delighted to announce that pace bowler Zak Chappell has been selected for the second ECB North-South Series in Barbados in March.

The two 13-man squads are made up of some of the highest-ranked domestic Royal London One-Day Cup 2017 performers according to the Professional Cricket Association MVP ratings, and other talented players. The aim of the series is to aid preparation for the 2019 ICC World Cup.

It is the second notable selection for Chappell this winter following his inclusion on the ECB Pace Programme based at the ECB National Performance Centre in Loughborough, Desert Springs in Spain and Potchefstroom, South Africa.

The 21-year-old Chappell is a product of Leicestershire CCC’s flourishing Academy, which continues to produce First XI players. Recent Academy graduates Sam Evans and Harry Swindells played for Leicestershire in 2017, with opener Evans making his first-class debut against Northamptonshire, and both players appearing in the tourist fixture versus West Indies. Swindells also played for England Under 19s in a test match against India.

Chappell took a career best 2 for 44 at Nottinghamshire in the Royal London One-Day Cup and also made useful contributions with the bat, including a personal high 59 not out against Durham.

The teams will each play a warm-up game on March 15 before the three-match series at the Kensington Oval on March 18, 21 and 23. The Kensington Oval will also stage the MCC's Champion County match against Essex from March 27 to 30 in a spring festival of English cricket in Barbados.

Chappell is one of two bowlers who have been part of ECB schedules in the close season as slow left arm spinner Callum Parkinson trained in Australia with England Lions and Young Lions prior to Christmas.

Leicestershire CCC Head Coach Paul Nixon said: “We are all delighted that Zak will get this opportunity and it will build on a great winter programme for him following his selection on the ECB Pace Programme. Having the opportunity to bowl in different conditions around the world is great at this stage of Zak’s career, and we will all be rooting for him to do well ahead of the 2018 season with us.

“Leicestershire CCC has a proud history of both producing good young players and encouraging youth in the First XI. It’s been brilliant to see both Zak and Callum Parkinson be part of ECB initiatives this winter, which will stand them both in good stead.”

The inclusion in the North-South squad builds on Chappell’s valuable experience both home and abroad this winter. In addition to the opportunity for warm-weather training in South Africa at the High Performance Institute for Sport at North West University’s Potchefstroom campus later this month, the bowlers also made a trip to the Desert Springs resort in southern Spain in December.

Chappell has also been part of a number of training weeks at the ECB National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough either side of the new year, as well as keeping in touch with the club’s coaches at the Fischer County Ground.

Nottinghamshire’s Steven Mullaney and Sam Northeast of Kent have been appointed as captains for the North-South Series. Paul Collingwood and Paul Franks will lead the North side while Mark Ramprakash and Andy Flower are in charge of the South team.

Former Leicestershire CCC batsman James Whitaker, the National Selector, finalised the squads after discussions with coaches Collingwood and Ramprakash, his fellow selectors Angus Fraser and Mick Newell, and the England and Lions coaching staff.

He said: “We believe these are two exciting squads which again underline the value of this North-South Series as an opportunity for us to see some strong contenders for white-ball cricket playing at a higher level of competition and intensity.

“The unavailability of several of the players who had earned automatic invitations means the squads are tilted more towards youth and potential this year.”

North: S Mullaney (Notts, captain), S Hain (Warwickshire), B Duckett (Northamptonshire), J Clarke (Worcestershire), K Jennings (Lancashire), B D'Oliveira (Worcestershire), A Davies (Lancashire, wk), P Coughlin (Notts), M Fisher (Yorkshire), S Mahmood (Lancashire), R Gleeson (Northamptonshire), Z Chappell (Leicestershire), M Parkinson (Lancashire).

South: S Northeast (Kent, captain), D Bell-Drummond (Kent), N Gubbins (Middlesex), D Lawrence (Essex), D Rawlins (Sussex), L Dawson (Hampshire), J Simpson (Middlesex, wk), S Curran (Surrey), P Walter (Essex), D Bess (Somerset), T Helm (Middlesex), J Porter (Essex), G Garton (Sussex).

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