Talented York off-spinner Dan Broadbent has been unexpectedly added to Yorkshire's squad for the pre-season tour of Grenada which begins on March 20.

The 17-year-old England Under-17s player could hardly believe his ears when he arrived home from Lady Lumley's School, Pickering, yesterday, and was told the news by his excited mum, Gill.

She had been telephoned earlier in the day by Yorkshire coach Arnie Sidebottom to see if Dan was able to make the trip.

And she was able to give the thumbs up after clearing it with her son's school - although his call-up means he will miss out on a school trip to visit war graves in France.

"I was absolutely chuffed when my mum told that I was going to Grenada with Yorkshire," said Broadbent, pictured above who lives at North Farm, Fadmoor.

"It also came as a bit of a shock because I knew the squad had already been picked a couple of weeks ago and I never dreamed I would be added to it."

Added the teenager: "I am really pleased and it will be a great opportunity to get to know some of the first team lads and to better myself. It is one step closer to playing first class cricket for Yorkshire.

"None of Yorkshire's England players is free to make the trip and this has given some of us younger lads a chance to show what we can do. I will doing everything I can to impress the coaches."

Broadbent is already preparing for his third season at the Yorkshire Academy and has been practising with them for the past three weeks at Leeds Grammar School.

"The touring party will be having further nets before we set off and I hope to be in good form when we get there," he said

"I have never been to the Caribbean before and it will be fantastic to experience a different culture."

Broadbent was added to the squad at the insistence of Yorkshire's director of coaching, Wayne Clark, who spent his first day at Headingley yesterday after flying in from Australia for the new season.

"Off-spinner Andy Gray is in the party but I thought it was an excellent opportunity to see at first hand how Dan is progressing," said Clark.

Yorkshire's meanwhile Craig White has been given the opportunity to fight it out for a place in England's Test side after being named in their line-up for the opening tour match against Otago tomorrow.

The Yorkshire all-rounder was a key figure in the England side that battled impressively but lost the three-Test series in India before Christmas, scoring his maiden century in the draw at Ahmedabad.

Just three months on, and White could find himself on the sidelines for the three-Test series coming up in New Zealand.

He has been given an early chance to impress in the three-day game selected alongside fellow all-rounder Andrew Flintoff.

Updated: 11:47 Friday, March 01, 2002