Hampshire Academy pair Tom Alsop and Joe Weatherley have been picked for the England Cricket Development Programme Under-17 tour to South Africa next month.

The selection of the duo is another massive boost for the Ageas Bowl academy, whose promising left-arm fast bowler Tom Barber will debut for the England Under-19s, against their South African counterparts, in Cape Town, again in February.

Batsman/wicketkeeper Alsop hails from Devizes and played for both the Academy and Andover in the ECB Southern Electric Premier League last season.

Sixteen-year-old King Edward VI student Weatherley enjoyed an outstanding 2012 season locally, helping Hampshire reach the ECB Under-15 County Championship final and scoring plenty of runs in the process.

The pair, who have been busy attending ECB training camps at Loughborough, will spend three weeks in Potchefstroom, where England U17s will stay at the local university.

“We have ten matches and nine training days in what will be a competitive environment,” said an excited Weatherley. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for the pair of us.”

Alongside their intensive cricket schedule, the 17-strong England squad will spend a community day visiting an orphanage and travelling around the locality before helping out in a games afternoon for under-privileged young children.

The England Under-17 tour is from February 10 to March 3 2013.