County paceman Jack Shantry will be guest speaker for Worcestershire Cricket Society tonight

Shantry has become one of Worcestershire’s most consistent and reliable performers with the ball.

He has taken 50-plus wickets in the County Championship during the last two campaigns and formed part of a potent attack with Joe Leach and Charlie Morris.

Shantry’s achievements in 2015 were recognised when he won the prestigious Dick Lygon Award at the end-of-season gala dinner awards night.

The 27-year-old, a former opener before his talents with the ball fully flourished, has also made several notable contributions with the bat.

Shantry produced an Ian Botham-esque performance against Surrey at New Road in September 2014 to seal promotion back to Division One of the County Championship.

He was the first player in first-class cricket batting at nine or lower to score a century and take 10 wickets in a match.

Non-society members are welcome to attend the evening for a charge of £3.

Meanwhile, Andy Flower says the England Lions players in the UAE have the chance to “put themselves at the front of the minds of the national selectors”.

Worcestershire’s Joe Clarke and Ross Whiteley are in the Lions party that flew out to Dubai last week for a five-match 50-over series against Pakistan A.

The pair were part of the triumphant Lions squad, who defeated Pakistan A 3-2 in a T20 series in December although Clarke suffered a quad injury and only played one game.

Flower, the ECB’s technical director of elite coaching, said: “It is an opportunity for these guys to put themselves at the front of the minds of the national selectors — and they’re aware of that.”

Whiteley played in all five of the T20 matches.

Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes is again part of the Lions coaching set-up in Dubai along with Flower, Gary Kirsten and Graeme Welch.

After a week-long training camp, Lions will play warm-up games on Thursday and Saturday before the series runs on January 20, 22, 25, 28 and 30.