England have been urged not to put too much pressure on Tymal Mills after the Sussex paceman was named in the Lions squad yesterday.

Mills, below, and Sussex team-mate Chris Jordan have been included in a 16-man party for a series of training camps followed by five Twenty20 games against Pakistan A in the UAE this winter.

The 23-year-old left-armer is rated as the fastest bowler in England but has been dogged by an ongoing back injury for the last two seasons and was restricted to just playing white ball cricket this summer.

Sussex coach Mark Robinson believes being part of the Lions set-up will help Mills return stronger for next season but has warned against rushing his rehabilitation and says he should not even be considered for the World Twenty20 in March.

Robinson said: “At the moment Tymal can only practice one day a week so going away in the winter will be good for him to start getting used to bowling more again.

“But his back problem is not going to go away as he has a narrow spine so it is a case of managing his workload and that is something I have discussed with the England management.

“He is an exciting bowler. Not many people in the world can bowl at 94mph but he needs to be managed carefully if he is to develop into someone who can be a match-winner for Sussex and England.”

No play was possible in Sussex’s crucial Championship clash with Somerset at Hove yesterday. Somerset will resume on 114-2 today in reply to Sussex’s first innings total of 409.

Lions squad: Ansari (Surrey), Ball (Notts), Billings (Kent), Clarke (Worc), Bell-Drummond (Kent), Foakes (Surrey), Gregory (Somerset), Jordan (Sussex), Malan (Middx), Mills (Sussex), Parry (Lanc), Topley (Essex), Westley (Essex), Willey (Northants), Whiteley (Worc), Vince (Hants).