Warren Gatland has named cricket legend Ian Botham’s grandson and a shock league convert in the Wales squad to tour Australia.
James Botham, a 26-year-old flanker, suffered a knee injury against Scotland in this year’s Six Nations but returned to start in the 41-13 loss to world champions South Africa in London last weekend.
Born in Cardiff, Botham has played 11 Tests and is the son of Liam Botham, who played rugby, league and cricket professionally.
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Gatland also sprung a surprise with the selection of winger Regan Grace for the two Test July series against the Wallabies.
Grace scored 88 tries in 141 Super League games before switching to rugby in 2022.
But the 27-year-old is yet to play a game of competitive rugby due to serious Achilles tendon injuries.
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Wales are reeling from seven straight Test losses but belted the Wallabies 40-6 at last year’s Rugby World Cup – a humiliating result which effectively ended the ill fated coaching reign of Eddie Jones.
“We’re expecting two fiercely contested Test matches Down Under and are also pleased to be able to play a third fixture against the Queensland Reds,” Gatland said.
“We are focusing on getting better as a group. This is a young squad that’s still learning at this level.
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“There are lots of positives and good things that we can build on from the weekend and there are also areas that we will be working hard to address over the next few weeks.”
Hooker Dewi Lake will captain the squad which features 597 caps.
Grace, hooker Efan Daniel and winger Josh Hathaway are the three uncapped players while Jac Morgan, Keelan Giles, Keiron Assiratti, Elliot Dee and Henry Thomas were ruled out with injuries.
WALES SQUAD: Dewi Lake (c), Ellis Bevan, Gareth Davies, Kieran Hardy, Sam Costelow, Mason Grady, Eddie James, Ben Thomas, Nick Tompkins, Owen Watkin, Rio Dyer, Regan Grace, Josh Hathaway, Liam Williams, Jacob Beetham, Cameron Winnett, Corey Domachowski, Kemsley Mathias, Gareth Thomas, Efan Daniel, Evan Lloyd, Archie Griffin, Dillon Lewis, Harri O’Connor, Ben Carter, Cory Hill, Dafydd Jenkins, Matthew Screech, Christ Tshiunza, James Botham, Mackenzie Martin, Taine Plumtree, Tommy Reffell, Aaron Wainwright