CRICKET: Wiltshire cricketer going to World Cup (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

CRICKET: Wiltshire cricketer going to World Cup

11:30am Friday 4th December 2009

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STEEPLE Ashton cricketer James Vince has been called up to the England squad for next year’s U19 World Cup.

The 18-year-old batsman has been included in the national party for the global tournament in New Zealand.

The former Chippenham player, who graduated from Hampshire’s academy last season, will fly out with the rest of the 15-man squad on New Year's Day.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “The preparations have been going well and it should be a great experience. We all believe we can go there and win the competition”

Vince featured in nearly half of Hampshire’s first-class games last season and was compared to former England captain Michael Vaughan by England’s former coach Duncan Fletcher.

But he said being called up for the World Cup squad is one of the highlights of his career so far.

“It is definitely up there along with playing first-class cricket,” he said.

The former Warm-inster School student signed a full contract with Hampshire in November following an impressive development season that saw him score 75 on his first-class debut against Nottingham-shire.

The young batsman also scored two half-centuries in his first six limited-overs matches, giving him a batting average of 51.40 – better than a run per ball.

Vince represented England U19s against Bangladesh this summer.

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