Riley makes shortlist for LV= Breakthrough Player Award

Five young cricketers have made it on to this year’s shortlist for the LV= Breakthrough Player award, the accolade which recognises emerging young talent in the domestic four-day game.

Zafar Ansari (Surrey), Alex Lees (Yorkshire), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Jason Roy (Surrey) and Adam Riley (Kent) are all in the running for the award after catching the attention of both professionals and pundits with some stellar performances in the LV= County Championship this season.

After a long list of ten was selected last month, an expert panel including ECB performance director David Parsons, former England skipper Mike Gatting and PCA Chairman Mark Wallace picked out five frontrunners for the award. The 2014 LV=CC Breakthrough Player will be decided by the public, who can vote for their winner at http://www.lv.com/about-us/sponsorship/lv-cc/breakthrough-player.

David Parsons, ECB performance director, said:

“These five guys have been hugely impressive in the LV= County Championship this season – there have been centuries, five-wicket hauls and match-winning performances across the board. It’s really important that we have strength all the way through the cricketing setup in England and Wales, and these players represent the next generation of potential internationals.”

Claire Jeromson, LV= Head of Sponsorship, added:

“We’re really proud to be recognising young cricketing talent in the 3^rd year of our Breakthrough Player award. The players on this year’s shortlist have all got a bright future ahead of them, and it’s great to be able to recognise and reward up and coming talent in the game.”