Glamorgan coach Richard Dawson has had the chance to monitor his young guns’ progress at close quarters as part of the England Lions’ staff himself.
“They’ve had a really interesting winter with that Lions trip to Australia, a great experience in different conditions against good cricketers and seeing international cricket close up with the England squad,” said Dawson.
“Asa then played franchise cricket in South Africa, but they’re still learning their game and they’re keen to keep on improving.”
England may have had a penchant for left-field selections such as Jacob Bethell and Shoaib Bashir without a consistent county record, with varying degrees of success, but Dawson is a believer in the importance of those county statistics.
“As a player, you’ve got to get runs and wickets and people sit up and take note. If you’re doing it in a winning side, people sit up a bit more so that’s my job. But people will pick squads how they see fit,” he said.
“Some seasons you might have 10 or 12 players going for one [England] spot so you’ve got to be the one that stands out. Asa and Ben played well and went on Lions tours.”
While international recognition for Tribe or Kellaway this summer would leave a hole in a Glamorgan side already facing fierce challenges, it would end an embarrassing drought for the county in producing players for a higher level.
BBC Sport Online will have live ball-by-ball commentary and reports on Glamorgan versus Yorkshire from Friday, 3 April, and all subsequent Championship matches.
