England young gun Mason Crane set to be put through his paces in T20 series against South Africa

Eoin Morgan has said all five uncapped players in England's squad will get a chance during the three-match series, with 20-year-old Crane set to be thrust under the spotlight

Mason Crane in training with England ahead of their T20 internationals against South Africa (Getty)

These three T20 internationals against South Africa are a somewhat curious feature of a summer that started with the Champions Trophy and will soon be dominated by Test cricket.

However, they do give England, still smarting from last week’s semi-final exit to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, a chance to blood a clutch of youngsters who may yet be part of their plans for the 2019 World Cup.

Eoin Morgan, England’s limited-overs captain, says all five uncapped players in the squad will get a chance during the matches in Southampton, Taunton and Cardiff this week.

That is good news for Liam Livingstone, Lancashire’s spinning all-rounder, Dawid Malan, the big-hitting Middlesex top order batsman, Tom Curran, the Surrey seamer who was called up for the ODI tour of the West Indies earlier this year, and Craig Overton, the Somerset fast bowler.

Yet it is Mason Crane, the 20-year-old leg-spinner from Hampshire, who is perhaps the most intriguing of the new boys.

Crane looks certain to make his England debut on his home ground in Southampton tomorrow.

Coming up against the likes of AB De Villiers and company will be a stern examination of his temperament, nerve and skill.

Liam Livingstone is set to be called up by Eoin Morgan (Getty)

But it is a challenge he is likely to relish given what he has achieved so far in his short career.

Crane fell in love with leg-spin while watching Shane Warne during the 2005 Ashes and the pair’s links with Hampshire, not to mention the fact he has already taken 50 first-class wickets, have led to obvious comparisons between the youngster and the game’s greatest leg-spinner.

A hugely-successful winter in Australia, which finished with Crane becoming the first Englishman to play Sheffield Shield cricket for New South Wales since the 19th century only heightened expectations that Hampshire – and England – possess a very rare talent.

Crane had travelled out to Australia at the end of last year to play grade cricket and, after being mentored by another famous leg-spinner in Stuart MacGill, became the first overseas player to represent New South Wales since Imran Khan in 1985, taking 5-116 to contribute to a Shield victory against South Australia at the SCG.

Mason Crane appeals during day three of the Champion County match between Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex in Abu Dhabi, March 2017 (Getty)

A starring role in the North v South series in Abu Dhabi followed for Crane.

There was a setback at the start of the summer when he was left out of Hampshire’s team for the first three County Championship matches. He came back strongly in the One-Day Cup, though, taking 14 wickets at 27.43 to earn his big opportunity at international level.

And it’s a prospect that excites Morgan.

“I have played against him a little bit,” he said. “He was very impressive. He is still very young but we want to see what he is about.

“He has all the tricks. Normally as a youngster you bowl a bad over and you come off, but he is brave enough to change things and that impressed me.

Crane will go up against De Villiers and Co (Getty)

“I think he has a good temperament from what we have seen from him. We will see tomorrow when he comes up against De Villiers and the like.”

De Villiers, who has not faced Crane before, added: “I’m not sure what we are going to do against him yet.

“We have analysed him and have got footage on him, we have seen his action and know more or less what to expect, he is not a completely foreign guy. We will see on the day what we can get out of him.”

Crane gets his chance because Adil Rashid, England’s senior leg-spinner, has been given this series off along with Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jake Ball.

That means there will be a chance to experiment in Southampton tomorrow and the other two T20s that follow.

Adil Rashid has been given this series off (Getty)

“Within the series, everyone is going to get a game,” said Morgan. “We don’t have a T20 World Cup until 2020, so it is an opportunity particularly when the senior players are rested, to have a look at these new guys.”

England could also hand Malan and Curran debuts tomorrow, with Overton not coming into the squad until the second match in Taunton on Friday for Mark Wood, who is only available for the first game ahead of the up-coming Test series against South Africa.

Morgan, though, did make it clear there would be a place in his team in Southampton for Jason Roy, who hit back from the disappointment of being dropped for the Champions Trophy semi-final against Pakistan by scoring 92 in Surrey’s last-four tie against Worcestershire in the One-Day Cup last Saturday.

“He is still the same fella,” said Morgan. “It is impressive he has come back from this run of bad form and hopefully he continues it throughout the summer. Everyone goes through a bad stage but it is how they come out of it that is important.”