England name squad of six for South Africa match

Chris Lloyd (The Kendleshire, Gloucestershire) makes a return to the country that witnessed one of his finest victories after being named in the six-strong squad for the annual South African Tri-angular match at Zebula Golf Club near Pretoria from January 12 to 14.
It was back in 2008 at Fancourt on the Cape that Lloyd triumphed in the Ernie Els World Junior Championship, a performance that underlined his potential at the age of 16. Now approaching his 18th birthday, Lloyd will be joined at Zebula by fellow Under-18 Squad members James Burnett (Sleaford, Lincolnshire), Sebastian Crookall-Nixon (Workington, Cumbria) and Ben Taylor (Walton Heath, Surrey), and by two members of the Under-16 Squad, Max Orrin (North Foreland, Kent) and Toby Tree (Worthing, Sussex).
Having been capped at Under-16 level in 2007 and 2008, Lloyd’s victory in the Ernie Els event confirmed his glowing talent and that year he also won the North of England Under-16 Championship. The Bristolian finished second on the EGU Boys' Order of Merit after a triumphant 2009 during which he earned his first boys cap in the European boys' team championships in the Netherlands. Domestically, he won the Gloucestershire championship, the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters and the English County Champions' tournament and lost a play-off to Tom Lewis for the Carris Trophy (England boys' Under-18 championship). Burnett, capped at Under-16 level in 2008, enjoyed a successful 2009 during which he was a joint winner of the inaugural Junior County Champions Tournament at Woodhall Spa, finished runner-up in the Midlands Youth Championship and the Lincolnshire Championship and reached the quarter finals of the British Boys.
Taylor was also prominent last year, helping Surrey to a third successive Boys County Championship, while he tied fourth in the South of England Boys and reached the last 16 of the British Boys Championship.
Crookall-Nixon has been the England Under 16 Champion for the past two years following his victories at High Post in 2008 and at Radcliffe-on-Trent last year. An under 16 cap for the past two years, in 2009 he also helped his club Workington win the Champion Club Tournament and represented Cumbria in the County Championship finals. He was also a member of the winning England team in the Boys Home Internationals and of the victorious GB&I team in the Jacques Leglise Trophy. Orrin, 15, was also to the fore in 2009, winning the South of England Boys Championship, making his under-16 international debut, and finishing runner-up in the Douglas Johns Trophy. His other successes included fourth place in the North of England Under 16 Championship, fifth place in the Kent Youths Championship, while he finished a shot outside the five-way play-off for the McGregor Trophy which Crookall-Nixon won.
Tree, who played in the Tri-angular match last year, was England Under 14 champion title in 2008. Last year, he won the Douglas Johns Trophy and the Sussex Boys Championship and made his debut at under 16 level for England, playing against Wales, Scotland and Ireland. England will meet hosts South Africa and Canada in the round robin match play tournament at Zebula where the format will be six singles on day one, three foursomes on day two and six more singles on the final day. Last year at the same venue, England were pipped at the post by South Africa after leading on the final day.