BOLTON cricket rising stars Haseeb Hameed and Matt Parkinson have been named in a 16-strong England Under-19s touring party to play a five-match one-day series and one-off four-day match against Australia Under-19s in Western Australia next month.

The two 18-year-olds duo will be joined by Lancashire team-mate Saqib Mahmood (17 from Rochdale) on the month-long tour which starts with a two-day warm-up game against a Western Australia XI on March 31 and concludes with the fifth of the last of the one-day 50-over matches on April 23.

The showpiece four-day game will be played at the WACA, starting on April 6.

The trio, who were recently handed professional contracts by Lancashire, have been selected from the 2014-2015 England Development Programme (EDP) intake which will make up the first England U19s squad to tour Australia for more than 10 years.

The tour, plus the reciprocal tour when the Aussie U19s visit England in August are seen as a vital part of England’s preparation for the 2016 ICC U19 World Cup in Bangladesh next February.

Hameed, the prolific right-hand batsman and leg-spin bowler who studies at Bolton School, and Canon Slade school student Parkinson, also a right-hander and leg-spinner, both came through the junior ranks at Old Trafford and have long been tipped for successful professional careers.

England Development Programme Chairman of Selectors, David Graveney, said: “This represents a fantastic development opportunity for all of the players – particularly the chance to play a four-day match at the WACA.

“This will be the first time we have played Australia U19s since we beat them in the third place play-off match in last year’s ICC U19 World Cup in UAE.

"That was a closely contested affair and we expect this series to be equally hard fought.

"Every Australian team that plays the game is always extremely competitive, and their U19 squad will be no different, especially given the quality of coaching provided by the likes of Greg Chapple, Graeme Hick and Troy Cooley.

“The fact that 2015 is an Ashes year for the men and women will only heighten interest in this U19 series, and I am certain that all 16 of the England players selected for the tour will be keen to set the tone for the summer.”