Kent batsman Daniel Bell-Drummond was honoured to have been called up to represent England Lions and vowed to show selectors just what he can do.

The 22-year-old opener was named in two squads on Wednesday afternoon, the
18-man England Performance Programme for a November training camp in Dubai and the 16-strong Lions squad for a T20 series against Pakistan A in December, in which he is joined by Kent keeper Sam Billings.

Bell-Drummond said: “It is a great honour to be called up. This has been a goal of mine since I played for the under-19s to step up and progress. It has taken me longer than I’d have liked but I am pleased.

“I am pretty nervous but hopefully I can get stuck in and show the selectors what I’m about. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, I just want to do myself justice.”

Bell-Drummond’s 767 runs in the LV= County Championship this term was well below his 1,000-run season in 2014 but he was Kent’s top scorer with 272 in the Royal London One-Day Cup at an average of 54, one more than Billings and also weighed in with 338 T20 runs.

He said: “I got stuck into First Class cricket last year and this year my white ball game has kicked on. I didn’t do as well as I’d have liked with the red ball this season but after the Australia game, I began to hear a few whispers about potential call-ups.”

It was his 127 against the touring Australian attack including Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris in June that caught the eye of selectors.

Bell-Drummond said: “They couldn’t get through to my phone on Monday to tell me so it was actually (Kent coach) Jimmy Adams who told me.”

Led by Andy Flower, the EPP winter programme will see 18 players undertake a four-day training camp in Loughborough in early November before Bell-Drummond heads to a batting and spin camp in Dubai from November 11.

A 16-man squad, which includes Billings and Bell-Drummond, will then undergo further training and a warm-up game ahead of a five-match T20 series against Pakistan A, starting on December 7.

Bell-Drummond said: “I played in Dubai last year for the MCC (during which he scored a half-century in Abu Dhabi) and enjoyed my time there. I am looking forward to it.

“I know a few of the lads but Sam Billings and Adam Riley did it last year (they went to Sri Lanka and South Africa with England PP and Lions) and it would be good to find out what to expect.”