High Wycombe CC youngster Saif Zaib will be jetting off to the UAE in February after he was selected to represent England Under-17s against Pakistan.

Zaib has earned international recognition following a fine season which culminated in him signing a three-year deal with County Championship side Northants in October.

The Royal Grammar School pupil also set a school record when he scored a mammoth 230 against RGS Newcastle, and the 16-year-old revealed his delight at receiving the call-up.

He said: “It’s a very good feeling to be selected for England. It came out of the blue actually but I tried my best last summer and luckily it was recognised.

“It’s always a good feeling to represent the three lions at any level.”

Zaib will join up with his national teammates for a three-day training camp at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough at the end of January, before packing his bags ahead of the tour to the Middle East.

The 17-day trip is scheduled to take place in February with the youngster already revelling in the fact he will be away representing his country.

He said: “I'm looking forward to going on tour, who wouldn’t be? Dubai is a beautiful country and just to play cricket there makes it even better.

“It means that I can go on a tour to Dubai and have a pre-season tour somewhere rather than being stuck inside playing in nets.

“It’s also just a good feeling that you’re representing your country’ so you’ve essentially got more responsibility for your actions.”

A series of fine performances for Wycombe in the Home Counties Premier League last season helped propel Zaib to prominence with a knock of 103 against Slough on the final day the pick of the bunch.

Playing for his local team at such a young age is an experience that Zaib believes has been helpful in his development thus far.

He said: “Playing for Wycombe has improved my game drastically. I mean being thrown into the first team at the age of 13/14 is always daunting but I believe it’s helped me improve my skills and my thought processes that I would never have done if I didn’t play at such an early age.”