50 Overs Under 25, Eleven
The best of the young players
The One Day Cup semi finals were played on Sunday, with Somerset beating Leicestershire and Glamorgan beating Warwickshire. the strange scheduling of the English season means the final is played (at Trent Bridge) on the 22 September.
I’m no fan of the competition being played in the shade of The Hundred but the result is a lot of very watchable cricket, generally played in front of decent crowds (typically 2 - 3k but higher on occasion) and ,with so many players off playing for The Hundred franchises, the 50 over competition is a good showcase for young talent. This is my 2024 One Day select, made up of players under 25 years of age who played a decent number of games in this year’s competition. It’s a bit of a hodgepodge of players I saw and players picked on the basis of stats. The equivalent team for 2023 is here.
Prithvi Shaw (Northants) 343 runs at 43, with a strike rate of 7 an over. Also in last year’s side. A strange one, an Indian international still under 25 (just) but his career seems to be sliding - not sure if being a Northants MetroBank 50 legend is really what he had in mind growing up in Mumbai.
Sol Budinger (Leicestershire) 458 runs at 46, strike rate 6 an over. Another 2024 returnee. Similar in age to Shaw but a different career trajectory. Budinger has moved from Nottinghamshire to Leicestershire to play more first team cricket and excels in the 50 over competition.
James Rew (Somerset) 445 runs at 74, strike rate 6 an over. Aged 20 Rew is well established as a class act, first class average of over 40, well organised …. but not a rapid scorer. His future progress probably depends on England getting a drubbing in the 2025 - 2026 Ashes.
Lewis Goldsworthy (Somerset) 416 runs at 59, strike rate 5.2 runs an over, 11 wickets at 19, economy rate 5 runs an over. Good county cricketer aged 23, his left arm spin is more than handy, especially in T20.
Luc Benkenstein (Essex) 287 runs at 36 at 5.5 an over, 19 year old son of Dale, definitely an up and coming cricketer, bowls a bit of, rather bad, leg spin.
Kai Smith (Warwickshire) 248 runs at 50, strike rate 6.8 an over. The 19 year old caught the eye with a match winning 130 in the quarter final against Worcestershire, that had shades of Jos Buttler in its calculation and all round the wicket shot making. Probably isn’t the next Jos Buttler but I suspect Kai has a very lucrative future as a T20 franchise player.
George Hill (Yorkshire) 17 wickets at an average of 18 and an economy rate of 4.6, 79 runs at an average of 11 with a strike rate 4.5. A very good, 23 year old, county cricketer , who can, despite the evidence of this year’s competition, bat, with a first class average of 30. Like Lewis Goldsworthy, there would have been a time when he would have been an absolute stalwart for his county but not so clear how he fits into a cricket dominated by T20. Appeared in the 2024 team.
Fateh Singh (Worcestershire) 15 wickets at 25 at an economy rate of 5, 20 years old tall left spinner, reminiscent of Tom Hartley and can bat a bit as well. Already moved from Nottinghamshire to Worcestershire and might get a Hundred call up next year.
Jamal Richards (Essex) 15 wickets at 25 at an economy rate of 5.5, 20 year old former England U19 player, quite sharp and skiddy, and not the worst lower order batsman. Essex a tough team to get into but he looks like a good young player and I’d expect him to make it, even if he has to move counties.
Ajeet Singh Dale (Gloucestershire), 24 years old, 13 wickets at 18.5 economy rate of 4.6, excellent one day cup record and called up for England Lions in a game against Sri Lanka, apparently bowls with a bit of pace and improving with the bat.
Jack Home (Worcestershire), 16 wickets at an average of 14 (fourteen!) and a economy rate of 6. At 18 years of age the baby in the team, a touch expensive but a remarkable first season. The Cricketer described him a bowling at 90 miles an hour, I’d say 85 with a stiffish breeze behind, but you can’t argue with that record at that age.