England hungry for Sixes success
England will field a squad of hungry young guns intent on making a name for themselves at next weekend's Karp Group Hong Kong Sixes at the Kowloon Cricket Club.
Left-arm fast-medium bowler Adam Ball, part of the England Under-19 set-up at this year's age-group World Cup in Australia, will will spearhead the attack as England aim to win a record sixth Cup title at the eight-team tournament.
"It's a pretty young, vibrant and dynamic side," said England manager Andrew Hurry. "They will be very motivated as each individual has got a lot to prove so they can progress through the ranks and into the one-day international side," Hurry said.
"We have always done well in this tournament. Our goal is to go one better than last time [runners-up to Pakistan] and we will be focused on that goal."
England will be led by Josh Cobb, who along with Tom Smith was part of last year's squad. The other members of the team are Derbyshire batsman Ross Whiteley; Keith Barker, who used to play soccer for Blackburn Rovers; Christopher Nash, a top-order batsman for Sussex; and wicketkeeper Ben Brown, who turns out regularly for Sussex.
India, meanwhile, will pack a side with big-hitting batsmen from the Indian Premier League as they bid to win their second Cup title.
Praveen Kumar will lead a team that includes Paul Valthaty, the Kings XI Punjab opening batsman, Rajasthan Royals bowler Ajit Chandela and Siddharth Chitnis, a useful batting all-rounder who bowls off-spin.
"This is the first time the Indian team has been selected with the format of the Sixes in mind and I believe we have one of the best combinations," warned team manager Vivek Bakshi.
The rest of the squad comprises Ishan Malhotra, Sandeep Sharma and Siddharth Trivedi.
