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the 23-year-old has shown neat work behind the stumps while impressing with the bat. A brutal 135 not out from 58 balls against Somerset in the Royal London Cup and a steady average in the Championship meant he was called up for the Lions’ trip to South Africa this winter.

7 Will GidmanOverlooked for this winter’s overseas tours despite hitting

826 runs and taking 39 wickets in last year’s County Championship second division, the allrounder has since joined Nottinghamshire from Gloucestershire. Following his departure from Durham where he failed to make the grade in 2010, Gidman has averaged under 21 with the ball in three seasons to have an overall first-class bowling average of 22 and 40 with the bat. At the age of 29, time probably isn’t on his side, but if he performs similarly in Division One such efforts can’t be ignored.

8 Craig OvertonBorn and bred in north Devon with his twin brother Jamie,

the strapping allrounder finally put his stamp on the Somerset first team in 2014 as he picked up 40 Championship wickets and managed 431 runs with the bat. The 20-year-old’s workload needs to be managed as he is recovering from an ankle injury but he could become an England regular in the near future provided he kicks on from last season’s performances.

9 Mark WoodEngland’s best bowler on the flat pitches of South Africa on

the Lions tour, the Durham bowler bounced back from an injury-blighted 2014 to impress the South African’s with his skiddy swingers. The 25-year-old has picked up 74 wickets in just 23 first-class games and has the ideal bowling group at Durham to learn off established performers Graham Onions and Chris Rushworth.

10 Adam RileySince the sudden retirement of Graeme Swann during the

2013–14 Ashes tour, the England management have been crying out for a world-class spinner to arrive. While Moeen Ali has done a sterling job, a specialist spinner would be welcome. Forty-eight wickets at a shade over 30 apiece in the County Championship last summer, for a young spinner, suggests promise.

11 Jack BrooksThe headband-wearing Brooks just looks for wickets as others

toil around him. Sixty-eight scalps, the second most in the country in 2014, was a fine effort for someone who didn’t make his first-class debut till 2009. Two-hundred and twenty-six wickets later and he is being talked about as a potential England international at the age of 30.

David Sillifant is studying sports journalism at Southampton Solent University

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if he performs similarly in division one such efforts can’t be ignored

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