Uncapped Derbyshire left-arm seamer Mark Footitt has been included in England’s 14-man squad for a four-day pre-Ashes training camp in Spain, the England and Wales cricket board (ECB) confirmed on Thursday.
Footitt, 29, has taken 32 wickets for his county in Division Two this season and was handed a place at the training camp, which begins on June 27, ahead of Yorkshire all-rounder Adil Rashid.
“It’s nice to receive this level of recognition for the hard work over the last 18 months,” Footit said of his call-up.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to show the England coaching staff first-hand what I am about and I hope I can impress and stake my claim for a place in the final Ashes squad.”
It was last year that Footit’s career came alive after intitally struggling to make an impact.
His 82 championship wickets coming at an average of 19.12 and including six five-wicket hauls as he played all 16 matches for his county.
His success did not go unnoticed by England as he earned his first international recognition with a call-up to the Performance Programme last winter, while he was also involved in preparations for the first Test of the summer against New Zealand.
“International cricket is massive and I think if you ask any county cricketer they would want to play for England,” Footit added of his ambitions.
Incoming England coach Trevor Bayliss, who was appointed last month following the dismissal of Peter Moores, will use the camp to get to know captain Alastair Cook and the players ahead of the first Ashes Test against Australia starting on July 8 in Cardiff.
Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, said the idea of the training camp was an ideal way of giving the players an early chance to spend time with their new coach.
“Trevor, Alastair and I felt it important that both players and management likely to be involved in the early stages of the Ashes have chance to meet him and fully understand his approach prior to meeting up for the start of the Test series,” he said.
“With that in mind, we have arranged a preparation camp in Spain. This will involve a combination of physical and fielding sessions and planning meetings in an informal environment in order to provide the best possible lead up to the first Test in Cardiff.
England are currently tied at 2-2 in a thrilling one-day international series against New Zealand, with the decider to come in Durham at Chester-le-Street on Saturday before a one-off Twenty20 match at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Uncapped Reece Topley and James Vince were on Thursday named in the 13-man T20 squad.
Essex left-arm seamer Topley and Hampshire batsman Vince join fellow T20 international newcomers Sam Billings, David Willey and Mark Wood in the squad for the one-off match on June 23.
Billings, Willey and Wood are all currently involved in the five-match one-day international series against New Zealand.
Eoin Morgan will captain the side but there is no place for former England T20 captain Stuart Broad.
“This match allows us another opportunity to look at players relatively new to international cricket as we look to build a squad for the World T20 in India this winter,” national selector James Whitaker said.
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