England pick Ahmed’s younger brother, 15

REHAN AHMED might be England’s youngest player across all international formats — but he is not even the most precocious cricketer in his family. Teenager Ahmed, the standout performer for the tourists with two for 40 in Sunday’s opening one-day defeat by West Indies, will be trumped today when his 15-yearold brother Farhan is named in England’s squad for next month’s Under 19 World Cup.

The Nottinghamshire off-spinner will miss a month of his GCSE year to play in the tournament in South Africa, which finishes three weeks before his 16th birthday.

‘He’s very excited. He bowls a lot of dot balls, so he’ll be quite boring, but no, I’m very happy for him,’ Ahmed said of his junior sibling. ‘He’s very young and to be picked for such a big thing, it’s an unbelievable achievement. He’s actually at school right now doing his physics test!’

Twelve months ago, Leicestershire leg-spinner Ahmed took the title of England’s youngest Test cricketer off Brian Close when he debuted with a five-wicket haul in Pakistan and was still 18 when he appeared in one-day and Twenty20 series in Bangladesh. But Farhan, who already has seven 50-over and one Test cap for England’s Under 19 team, could pip him if he maintains his current rate of progress.