Kieswetter gets England call
Kieswetter called into the England Performance Programme
Tuesday, 03, Nov 2009 02:32
By Michael Younger.
Somerset wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter has been called into the England Performance Programme (EPP), despite not yet being qualified for his adopted country.
The 21-year-old was born in South Africa and represented the Proteas at Under-19 level but moved to Somerset in 2006 and has long been talked about as a potential England player.
Kieswetter has been named as a 'category B' squad member, designed for players with first-class experience who could graduate to the senior side with one to three years' development.
He will now spend eight weeks training at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough and CSA High Performance Centre in South Africa during November and December.
If Kieswetter makes the grade and links up with Andy Flower's side in the future, he will be joining fellow countrymen Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and current England captain Andrew Strauss as players born in South Africa but representing England.
Flower himself is also of southern African origin, having made his name as an opening batsman for Zimbabwe before going into coaching.