Several familiar family connections in squad for three-match white-ball series
Rocky Flintoff, Andrew’s son, has been picked for England Under-19s  •  Lancashire Cricket
Rocky Flintoff, the son of former England allrounder Andrew Flintoff, has been called up to England men’s Under-19 squad for their three-match youth ODI series against Sri Lanka later this month.
Despite being just 16, Flintoff has impressed for Lancashire 2nd XI this season. He made his debut two days after his 16th birthday and scored a maiden century in April against Warwickshire 2nd XI at Edgbaston. His father, Andrew, is currently out in the Caribbean as part of the England coaching staff for the T20 World Cup.
The U19 squad has plenty of other family connections throughout. They will be captained by Essex allrounder Luc Benkenstein, son of former South Africa batter and current Lancashire head coach Dale Benkenstein.
Offspinner Farhan Ahmed, younger brother of England international Rehan Ahmed, is also included, having signed his first professional contract at Nottinghamshire this week. Durham wicketkeeper Haydon Mustard, whose father Phil earned 12 white-ball caps with England, has also been selected alongside Somerset’s Thomas Rew, another keeper batter and the younger brother of the highly touted James Rew.
The 16-man squad includes nine players who played in the U19 World Cup earlier this year in South Africa. England failed to make the knockout stages, eventually placing sixth overall.
Ben McKinney, who captained the team at the World Cup, and Hamza Shaikh were not considered for selection as they are likely to appear for a County Select XI in a three-day match against West Indies. That fixture, which will be played at Beckenham from July 3, will be West Indies’ sole warm-up match ahead of their three-match Test series against England, which begins at Lord’s on July 10.
The squad for the two-match Youth Test series with Sri Lanka is due to be announced later this month.
England Men Under-19s coach, Mike Yardy, said: “We have selected an exciting squad for the series, with a blend of some players who are currently playing in the Vitality Blast and some younger players for whom it will be their first time in an Under-19s squad.
“As always, it’s a great opportunity for the players to perform in an England Under-19 shirt and to experience international cricket.”
England Men U19s squad: Luc Benkenstein (Essex – captain), Farhan Ahmed (Nottinghamshire), Tazeem Ali (Warwickshire), Charlie Allison (Essex), Noah Cornwell (Middlesex), Rocky Flintoff (Lancashire), Keshana Fonseka (Lancashire), Eddie Jack (Hampshire), Dom Kelly (Hampshire), Freddie McCann (Nottinghamshire), Harry Moore (Derbyshire), Haydon Mustard (Durham), Thomas Rew (Somerset), Noah Thain (Essex), Raphael Weatherall (Northamptonshire), Theo Wylie (Warwickshire).
Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
