15-year-old set for English county debut

A 15-year-old bowler is poised to make history after being named in English county Yorkshire‘s squad for their domestic 40-over match with Leicestershire on Sunday.

At the age of 15 years and 212 days, Matthew Fisher will become the youngest post-war cricketer to play in one of England’s county competitions if he features in the game in the northeastern town of Scarborough.

“I could never imagine at the start of the season that I would be named in the first-team squad,” he told the website of British newspaper The Sun today.

“It’s unbelievable. When I found out, I was very proud and emotional. I was smiling from ear to ear. My target at the start of the year was to get one or two second-team games — I’ve already surpassed that.”

Fisher, a right-arm seamer, already bowls at around 80 miles per hour (129 kilometres per hour) and took 6-25 against Leicestershire in a second-team game last week.

“Matthew deserves his call-up into the squad,” Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie told the club website.

“We monitor the progress of all our players and the feedback I have received from (second-team coach) Paul Farbrace on the way Matthew has been playing has been excellent.

“He is very young, but he has the ability to be successful if he is selected on Sunday.”

The record for the youngest player to appear in an English first-class game is held by Yorkshire wicketkeeper Barney Gibson, who was 15 years and 27 days old when he donned the gloves against Durham University in April 2011.

Gibson broke a record set by Hampshire’s Charles Young in 1867, but he is still waiting for his second appearance in the senior side.