IPSWICH School duo Ben Manning and James Gwinnutt have been selected for the England Under-19 indoor cricket squad.

Stuart Watson

IPSWICH School duo Ben Manning and James Gwinnutt have been selected for the England Under-19 indoor cricket squad.

Year 12 students Manning, 16, and Gwinnutt, 17, were unable to break into their school's first XI in outdoor game last season and had to make do playing second team cricket.

However, after attending an open trial for the indoor junior national side in Bristol last month they have since been notified of their inclusion in the provisional squad which will represent England in the Under-19 World Cup in Brisbane, Australia, this October.

The pair first became interested in indoor cricket three years ago when Gwinnutt and his father organised a school team which meets at Bats & Balls, Ipswich's Indoor Cricket Centre on Henley Road, for training sessions run by Steve Bulger.

Indoor cricket sees the playing area surrounded by netting. The scoring system includes bonus runs when the ball hits the net, the number of bonus points being determined by which zone of the netting the ball makes contact with.

“You have to be an all-rounder in the indoor game,” explains Manning. “I'd say my bowling was stronger than my batting but that my main skill is fielding.”

Gwinnutt says that he, too, is stronger with the ball than with the bat. He said: “The indoor game is very different from the outdoor game. There are eight players in a side, and each player has to bowl for two overs and bat in a partnership for four overs.”

The World Cup competition runs from 8-17 October and will be held at the West Brisbane Indoor Sports complex. The tournament is organised by the World Indoor Cricket Federation.