KYLE Abbott believes James Vince will benefit from NOT playing for England too soon.

Vince’s former England Under-19 teammates Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes – and county collague Danny Briggs – have already won several senior caps.

It is only a matter of time before the country’s form batsman joins them on the biggest stage.

Vince has 1,046 runs for the season at an average of 80.46 after his career-best 240 in the record-breaking 470-run win against Essex.

He and Abbott may well be in opposition when England tour South Africa in 18 months’ time.

But Hampshire’s overseas star, who made his international debut in all formats last year, provides a reminder that Vince, who was 23 in March, has time on his side. “I know from a personal point of view that it’s frustrating when you’re on the fringes of your national side,” said Abbott, who was 27 yesterday. “You think ‘when am I going to get picked, when am I going to get picked’. “But one thing I’ve learnt is that the longer you keep playing first-class cricket the better you’re going to get and batsmen sometimes get picked a bit early.

“When Vincey does make his debut he won’t struggle at all but [Chris]Rogers and [Mike] Hussey are guys who scored a lot of first-class runs before having a great Test career.

“He’s been talked about for a long time now.

“I first heard about him a few years ago, when Dimi Mascarenhas said to watch out for this kid.

“It was only when I came here that I realised I was playing with him. “He’s been really good and scores at a good rate which is vital.

“He’s one that England will use in the future but if he gets picked in three years’ time he’s going to be better than he is now and will probably have a longer career.”