Worcestershire batter, Jack Haynes, is determined to create a favourable impression when he flies out to the UAE on Sunday (November 6) for a three-week training camp as part of the England Lions squad.
Haynes has earned his call-up after an excellent season at New Road, and he finished as Worcestershire’s second-highest scorer in the LV=Insurance County Championship with 811 runs at an average of 47.70.
He scored his maiden first-class hundred against Durham at New Road and followed it up with two more in quick succession.
Haynes, who has already represented England Under-19s, will also have the opportunity to demonstrate his skills in a three-day practice match against England from November 23 to 25 in Abu Dhabi.
Five members of the Test squad are arriving ahead of the series with Pakistan, and three pace bowlers are joining the Lions group to continue their rehabilitation from injury.
Haynes said: “Obviously delighted to get the first Lions call-up. It’s something I always wanted to do, and to be able to get away and train for a few weeks in November and hopefully push on for the tour (of Sri Lanka) in the New Year, is a really exciting thing to do.
“It would be great for my game, and I’m really looking forward to getting going.
“It’s a bit more of a step up from the Under-19s. It will be good exposure to good players more often, and hopefully, I can keep improving and put some performances together.
“Is the aim to get on that trip to Sri Lanka? Definitely. That is the aim, to train hard and work myself into that touring party in the New Year.
“There is a game at the end of this training against England, so it will be a great opportunity – if selected – to hopefully show what I can do.
“I want to try and keep improving, and if my game keeps going forward, then that’s a positive. Keep improving, keep working on things, and we will see where we go from there.
“I played with a couple of the lads at Under-19 level and played against some of the others on the circuit this year. I know a few of them fairly well, and hopefully, we can train hard together and enjoy it out there.”
Reflecting on the 2022 season, Haynes said: “I was pleased with my summer. I was pleased with both formats. It maybe petered out a little bit, and I probably didn’t start quite as well as I wanted in the red ball stuff.
“But during the middle, I was pretty happy with that and managed to convert some scores, which I hadn’t been doing the previous years, which was nice.
“Hopefully, it is a platform to kick on next year and keep contributing and keep contributing to wins.”
Haynes added: “Did it feel like a breakthrough year? “I think so. Everyone sort of thought I could do it, and once you get past that figure (first hundred), you believe even more, and then you just try and cash in then as much as you can then.
“I was chuffed to get my first hundred, and hopefully, that is a stepping stone to plenty more.”
Haynes also had a taste of The Hundred with the Oval Invincibles and, although selected for just one game, believes it was another excellent learning curve.
He said: “I loved the month I was down in London. The quality and standard of the team there was top-drawer, and the team was full of brilliant players.
“Watching them go about their business in the nets, and to pick the brains of coaches who have travelled all around the world, and seeing all the best players, and watching loads of T20 cricket, is only going to benefit me for next season and beyond.
“I hit a lot of balls, trained pretty hard, didn’t play as much as I would have liked, but that is part and parcel of these competitions, and, if I can just keep improving, then hopefully, I will be playing more games in those sort of competitions down the line.
“With the catch (by van der Merwe), I was a bit frustrated, but I probably should have kept it on the floor, so it serves me right!”
As regards his targets for next season, Haynes said: “There are no specific goals as of yet, but I’m sure I’ll sit down at the start of the season and write down a few things like I usually do.
“I’m sure I’ll have a few goals to look at come April.”
