LOUGHTON-BORN cricketer James Foster found an ally in Twenty20 skipper Paul Collingwood after the national selectors omitted him from the Lions squad to face Australia ahead of the Ashes this week.

Essex wicketkeeper Foster excelled with the gloves during England’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign this summer, but Worcestershire’s Steven Davies has been preferred in the role.

The England Lions – effectively the national team’s reserve side – began their tour match with Australia yesterday (Wednesday), representing the tourists’ final opponents before the Ashes series begins in earnest in Cardiff next Wednesday.

However, Foster will remain with Essex during that time, despite calls from many pundits in the game for his inclusion in the Lions’ set-up and for the right to serve as England’s current wicketkeeping incumbent Matt Prior’s understudy. Having captained Foster during the World Cup, Collingwood was full of praise for the local player, and was impressed with his work behind the stumps.

“Fozzy did fantastically well in the Twenty20 and there are two stumpings that stick out in my mind,” Collingwood said, referring to the brilliant dismissals of India’s Yuvraj Singh and West Indies’ danger man Dwayne Bravo during the Super Eight phase of the competition.

“He’s very, very good at standing up to the stumps and he’s a good all-round cricketer.

“But we’ve got three spinners (in the Ashes squad) and some very good keepers.”

Foster has been in fine form for Essex with both the gloves and the bat, scoring at an average of over 43 in the LV County Championship and taking 28 catches.