FIVE new faces will feature in Worcestershire's 2018-19 academy.

Top-three batsman and off spinner Dan Holland, paceman and accomplished batsman Ed Bragg, front-line batsman Rehaan Edavaleth and batting all-rounders Reeve Evitts and Jacques Banton will be part of the full set-up for the next 12 months.

They join Xavie Clarke, Zain Ul-Hassan, Matt Davis, Mitchell Stanley, Pete Clark, Henry Cullen and Josh Dickenson who will be returning for a further year.

The 12 players will be put through their paces by academy coach Elliot Wilson during the winter months with the aim of progressing to the second XI and following in the footsteps of Dillon Pennington, Jack Haynes and Adam Finch who have signed professional contracts on the back of being in the 2017-18 academy.

Wilson said: "The aim of all these programmes ultimately is to find future Worcestershire cricketers.

“We talk about potential and emerging players but this is a programme for people we consider have a great chance of being a future Worcestershire cricketer.

“For some of them that might be very soon, for some of them in a number of years.

“Hopefully all these guys are going to have an opportunity to find out over the next two, three, four or five years.”

Holland attends Malvern College and had a consistent season for Worcestershire under-17s. He as chosen for the Bunburys in 2017 and plays for Dumbleton CC.

Bragg, another member of the under-17s in 2018, has developed as a pace bowler during the past 12 months. He showed his prowess as a batsman with a century for the academy against Northants in the final game of the season and is a pupil at Prince Henry School, Evesham.

Edavaleth, like Holland, is a Malvern College pupil and was selected for the 2018 Bunburys.

He has been a member of the satellite academy based in Staffordshire and played for the under-14/15s in 2018.

Evitts is another 14-year-old who was with the satellite academy last winter. He is a pupil at the John Taylor High School, Burton.

Banton is the brother of Somerset and England under-19 player Tom Banton. He is a pupil at King’s School, Taunton, plays for Barnt Green CC and was selected for the Super Fours over the summer.