An England pick for Tom is 'deserved'

LANCASHIRE’S Director of Cricket has praised Tom Hartley on his inclusion for England in the series against Ireland.

Mark Chilton said: “It’s well deserved. He’s worked hard with our coaches, particularly Carl Crowe, over the last two years.

“One of our key objectives is to try and improve players and get them to a level where they get picked for international and franchise teams. It’s really good reward for his efforts and we’re delighted for him.

“He made an impact in the white ball game at the start of his Lancashire career, but he’s always had a real ambition to keep developing his red ball cricket, and he’s continually worked on that.

“What I’ve seen from Tom is gradual improvement across his whole game.

“He’s a tall spinner and his qualities in short format cricket are being able to bowl the ball into the pitch, hit the top of the stumps a lot, and cramp batters for room (to play their shots).