Son of former England captain to lead U-19 team on tour of South Africa

Former England captain Michael Vaughan's son Archie has been named the new skipper of the nation's U-19 team for their upcoming tour of South Africa. Archie is a 19-year-old batting all-rounder, just like his father.

England's Young Lions will tour South Africa for a two-match Youth Test series and a three-match Youth ODI series against the home side's U-19 team. As per ESPNCricinfo, Archie Vaughan will lead the visiting team on this tour.

Sharing the details of when he came to know that he was going to lead the England U-19 team, Archie Vaughan said:

"I found out that I was going to be captain during the training camp before Christmas and it was a very special moment. To get the opportunity to represent England at this level is really special in itself, but to lead the team out is something else."

Like his father Michael Vaughan, Archie bats in the top order and bowls right-arm off-spin. He signed a contract with Somerset in May 2024 and made his county cricket debut in July.

"It's happened quickly but I'm going to keep my feet on the ground" - Archie Vaughan on becoming England U-19s captain for South Africa tour

Archie Vaughan mentioned that he would not have believed it if someone told him a year ago that he would play for Somerset's first-choice team and become England U-19 captain so soon. The youngster wants to keep his feet on the ground and march further.

"If someone had told me 12 months ago that I would have forced my way into the Somerset first team and be captaining the Under-19s, I wouldn't have believed them. It's happened quickly but I'm going to keep my feet on the ground and work harder and harder," Archie added.

Here is England's complete U-19 squad for their upcoming tour of South Africa, starting on January 17.

England U-19s squad: Archie Vaughan Farhan Ahmed, Tazeem Ali, Ben Dawkins, Kesh Fonseka, Alex French, Alex Green, Jack Home, James Isbell, Eddie Jack, Ben Mayes, James Minto, Harry Moore, Joe Moores, Thomas Rew, Aaryan Sawant, Naavya Sharma and Alexander Wade.