Hankins targeting 1st XI return after being named England U19 man of series
19 August 2016
Gloucestershire batsman George Hankins was named England Under 19s’ man-of-the-series against Sri Lanka.
The 19-year-old scored 188 runs at an average of 62.66 in the three match one-day contest.
The right hander was chosen by Sri Lanka’s coaching staff after the tourists clinched the series 3-0 -following on from their 1-0 win over England in the Test series.
George was an ever-present in both formats but was singled out for his contribution in the 50-over-a-side games by England Development Programme (EDP) head coach Andy Hurry
He said: “George has played a lot of first-class cricket for Gloucestershire this year, so he put a wealth of experience into this under-19 series.
“He was disappointed not to kick on after making a start in the first four-day match, and not really making his mark on that series. But he’s definitely left a mark on the one-day series. What’s really encouraging to me is the way he managed his innings – he looks to accumulate runs, with good attacking intent and strong positive shots, but in a sensible way.”
George – who made scores of 98 and 79 in his last two matches for England – is available for Gloucestershire’s next County Championship match against Kent at the Brightside Ground on Tuesday starting on August 23.
Reflecting on his time with England Georges said: “It was a very good experience against a very competitive Sri Lankan team. It was a shame we didn’t get the results we wanted but it was a challenge for me, particularly facing a lot of spinners and I learned a lot.
“Obviously the Test series didn’t go to plan for me but I just came in open-minded and I knew that if I backed my ability I could score some runs and it paid off.”
To listen to the full interview with George please click below:
The Test and ODI series were George’s first taste of international cricket and he says it was a thrill to pull on the famous three lions for the first time.
He said: “It was very special, turning up to Loughborough (the ECB National Cricket Performance Centre) and being given your bag of kit. It was also special to receive my Test and ODI caps.
“I received my ODI cap from Andrew Strauss (see pic) which was a big moment for me, especially with all of my family there.
“I received my Test cap from David Graveney so they were two special moments that I will remember for a long time.”
George made his County Championship debut for Glos v Worcestershire in April 2016 and scored his first half century against Glamorgan at the Brightside Ground in May.
He hopes to use his experience with the Lions as a springboard to help him contribute towards Gloucestershire’s Division Two promotion battle.
He said: “I will take a lot of confidence from my last two innings.
“Hopefully if I keep working hard in the nets like I have done over the last couple of months then hopefully I can get back into the team and score a few runs.”
One man pleased to see have George back in contention for a first team place is stand-in skipper Michael Klinger.
He said: “Going off to represent England was tremendous experience for George and it was great to see him do so well in the last couple of games.”
