Tuesday 30 June 2015 11:07, UK
Six of England's brightest emerging talents have been shortlisted for the LV=Breakthrough Player award.
Yorkshire's Jack Leaning, Sussex's Ollie Robinson, Gloucestershire's Craig Miles, Surrey's Tom Curran, Nottinghamshire's Luke Wood and Lancashire's Alex Davies have been selected by a panel of experts including ECB performance director David Parsons, Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie and former England batsman Mark Butcher.
They will be joined by two more 'wild card' picks in August before a public vote determines the winner.
England vice-captain Joe Root, who picked up the inaugural award in 2012, hailed the calibre of the field, which rewards the best championship newcomers aged 23 and under.
"The talent in this country is getting better and better as you can tell by this year's LV= Breakthrough Player Award shortlist," Root said.
"I think it's great that the new crop of younger players are starting to come through.
"The LV= County Championship helped me massively. It's a breeding ground for international cricket players and I was lucky to learn from some of the best in the system."
Leaning is the latest batting talent off the Yorkshire conveyor belt, and with Adam Lyth, Joe Root and Gary Ballance likely to be away all summer with England, he has already become an important player for them.
Keeper Davies has been in excellent form behind the stumps and with the bat, ensuring Lancashire have not missed Jos Buttler.
Four of the nominees are up-and-coming fast bowlers. Robinson, who left Yorkshire for Sussex, has been a big hit on the south coast, while Wood is rated highly by good judges at Trent Bridge.
Miles has been getting good players out all season for Gloucestershire, but arguably the favourite will be Curran. Born in South Africa but qualified for England, he has taken 43 wickets in Division Two – only Lancashire’s Zimbabwean star Kyle Jarvis has taken more.
