Hampshire youngster Tom Alsop has picked the brain of Chris Rogers as part of his preparations to face the next generation of Australian talent with England’s Under-19s in Durham next week.

Alsop, a 19-year-old left-hander who is in his second summer with the England team, played alongside Rogers, Mitchell Marsh and Peter Nevill on the Isle of Wight in June when the Aussies were looking for some practice before their Ashes tour.

He made 75 against a bowling attack including Ryan Harris - who was still aiming to play in the Ashes series himself - while Rogers lasted only six balls in his first innings since being concussed on Australia’s tour of West Indies.

“I was fortunate enough to be on his side and it was a great opportunity to talk to him,” Alsop explained. “He’s obviously the best at what he does - his form at Test level has been so consistent. He’s a credit to the game really, he’s been fantastic in all the teams he’s played in, a master of batting time and getting big scores.”

The chat with ‘Buck’ does not seem to have done any harm, as Alsop followed 195 for Hampshire’s second team against Sussex earlier this month with a tidy 68 in the Under-19s warm-up match against a Unicorns attack led by Graham Onions in Loughborough.

“It’s nice to be back in the Three Lions,” added Alsop, who missed out on selection for the Under-19s tour of Australia last winter despite scoring a century in the home one-day series against South Africa.

“It was a shame in the winter but I went out to Durban thanks to our coach Dale Benkenstein which was a great experience.

“Sarge [Andy Hurry, the Under-19s coach] dropped it on us in our team meeting on Wednesday night that we’d be facing Graham Onions, and obviously to face a bowler like that is going to give us good prep before the Test.

“It was the first time I’d faced him, and facing a bowler like that makes you get the best out of your game. It’s nice to get a few runs under your belt before hopefully playing in the Test match next week.

“Obviously the country at the moment is all behind the main team up in Edgbaston so to play against the Australians in any sport is a great rivalry. It’s a pretty exciting time.”

Brad Taylor is also in the England squad for the four-day match at the Emirates ICG, which starts on Tuesday.

Australia have brought a strong squad including the highly-rated Jake Doran, who also played in that Isle of Wight fixture, and Ian Healy’s wicketkeeping son Tom.

They are coached by the former England batsman Graeme Hick, while Greg Chappell is the head of talent identification.