Vince to captain Lions against SA A

James Vince has been named as captain of England Lions for their one-day series with South Africa A next month. Vince is one of four full England internationals in the 13-man squad, alongside Steven Finn, Ben Duckett and Liam Dawson.

The core of the squad is the same as that which toured Sri Lanka earlier this year, with the addition of Essex batsman Dan Lawrence - who wins his first call-up - and Sussex quick George Garton. The Lions will play three unofficial ODIs against South Africa A, starting on June 1 at Trent Bridge.

The series coincides with the start of the Champions Trophy and James Whitaker, England's national selector, said it provided "the opportunity to keep our standby players in white-ball action" during the early stages of the tournament.

"The quality of the squad we have selected reflects well on the strength in depth we now have in 50-over cricket, which has emerged through the county game," Whitaker said. "All the players in this squad will have the 2019 World Cup in their sights, and playing for the Lions offers them the platform to show what they can do.

"In addition to his considerable captaincy experience with Hampshire, James Vince has led the Lions before, to an excellent series victory against South Africa A in early 2015 and again when they played 50-over and T20 series against Pakistan A in Dubai in the winter of 2015-16 - and he also impressed in captaining the South to victory in the North-South Series earlier this year. He is a good tactical reader of the game.

"We were also mindful in selecting this squad that the series coincides with an important round of matches in the Specsavers County Championship. As ever we are grateful to the counties for their support, and for appreciating the importance of the Lions programme in developing players for international cricket."

Several counties will be affected by Lions call-ups, notably Hampshire, who will lose Vince and Dawson for their game against Warwickshire. Surrey, who have three players in the squad, are not playing in the round of fixtures beginning on June 2, and neither are Essex nor Kent.

After the one-day series, the Lions will play an unofficial Test against South Africa A at Canterbury on June 21-24, and then a three-day warm-up fixture against the full South Africa touring side from June 29, with the squads to be named next month.