Stephen Cook, eldest son of Hampshire coach Jimmy, has been selected for South Africa Under-19s, writes Mike Vimpany.

Batsman Cook, 18, from Ranburg, near Johannesburg, has been picked by the junior Proteas for the seven-match tour to New Zealand starting next week, when they will play three Under-19 Tests and as many one-day internationals.

Cook (pictured left) then plans to spend this summer in Southampton playing in the ECB Southern Premier League as he tries to build up towards emulating his father's feats in South African cricket.

Denied the opportunity to play more than three Test matches due to South Africa's isolation from theinternational scene, Jimmy Cook scored over 21,000 runs for Transvaal and broke numerous batting records during his three-year stay at Somerset in the early '90s.

And Jimmy is naturally delighted at his son's achievements, saying: "Competition for places in the South African provincial Under-19 sides, let alone the national team, is extremely fierce.

"He played some good innings for Gauteng in the Coca Cola (Nuffield) Championships before Christmas and has been picked to go to New Zealand on merit.

"Stephen is desperate to play first-class cricket and knows that when he comes across to play in Hampshire this summer, it will be hard graft - and certainly not a holiday."

The junior Cook got a brief taste of English conditions with Flamingo CC last summer and his younger brother, Ryan, 15, is a promising leg-spin bowler.