Hampshire batsman Nick Gubbins given chance to catch the England selectors’ eyes against touring New Zealanders

The call-up comes after the left-hander scored 443 runs in his county’s opening six Championship Division 1 games.

That haul - the highest of any Hampshire player - includes two centuries in the same game, 101 not out and 130 in the drawn fixture with Lancashire at The Ageas Bowl.

Gubbins, 28, now has a chance to catch the England selectors eyes, though he has played for his country before - most recently for the Lions team in 2018 when he was at Middlesex.

Ollie Robinson and Dom Sibley are the two England capped players in a 12-man squad that will be overseen by ECB Elite Performance Pathway Coach Richard Dawson.

Kent opening batter Ben Compton, who leads the run-scoring in Division 1 of Championship this season with 878 runs, has been rewarded with a place following his start to the summer.

The squad was selected from the pool of available players following consultation with the first-class counties.

Dawson said: ‘We have selected a strong squad of players who are in form and who deserve the opportunity to test themselves against high-class international opposition.

‘Matches like this provide a valuable opportunity to see how the selected players handle a step up from county ranks and I am looking forward to working alongside them.

‘I would also like to thank the first-class counties for their collaborative approach during a busy period.’

The four-day game starts this Thursday.

County Select XI squad: Jack Blatherwick (Lancashire), Michael Burgess (Warwickshire), Ben Compton (Kent), Ben Gibbon (Worcestershire), Nick Gubbins (Hampshire), Tom Haines (Sussex), Lyndon James (Nottinghamshire), Ryan Patel (Surrey), Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire), Jamie Porter (Essex), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire).