England ICC World Cup squad – will last minute changes upset their chances?
One of the most settled sides in international one day cricket and the tournament’s co-favourites, England find themselves with two last minute squad conundrums in the face of Alex Hales ignominious sending home for unsanctioned recreational drug use, and the possibility of a late inclusion for rising superstar of the white ball cricketing world, twenty-four-year-old Jofra Archer.
All teams appearing in this summer’s ICC World Cup in England and Wales have until 23rd May to finalise their provisional squads and England selectors’ decisions may have a huge impact on their team’s performance, in this, their biggest chance of World Cup glory ever.
Hale’s deselection from the squad has cast a shadow over the team’s buoyant attitude and England Captain, Eoin Morgan was visibly seething over the incident at a recent press conference saying that:
“Hales has shown complete disregard for team values. This has created a lack of trust between Alex and the team.”
In light of the controversy surrounding Hales and last minute injuries to the likes of Sam Billings who dislocated a shoulder and is no longer available for selection, the ECB have named an extended 17-man squad for their five-match warm-up series against Pakistan.
Provisional England World Cup Squad:
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Tom Curran (Surrey), Joe Denly (Kent), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Liam Plunkett (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham) (Alex Hales – deselected).
Commenting on the selection of the squads, National Selector Ed Smith, said:
“In line with ICC regulations, we have to name a preliminary squad of 15 for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup before April 23. However, all 17 players named in the Royal London ODIs against Pakistan can stake a claim to be in the final 15-man squad, finalised at the end of that series.
“The selection panel has been impressed with Jofra Archer’s performances in domestic and franchise cricket. He is a very talented and exciting cricketer.
“Chris Jordan, a regular in IT20 squads over the past few years, has continued to develop as a cricketer – as we saw in the IT20s in the West Indies. He fully deserves his return to the ODI squad.”
Since that 17-man squad announcement, Hales has been deselected and specialist batsmen, Ben Duckett, Dawid Malan and James Vince have all been added to the Royal London ODI series versus Pakistan, taking the total squad tally to 19 players.
England squad current stats:
Specialist batsmen:
Eoin Morgan (Captain) – (217 ODIs, Average 38.7, Highest score 124)
Jason Roy (72 ODIs, Average 38.57, Highest score 180)
Joe Root (126 ODIs, Average 50.47, Highest score 133)
Ben Duckett (3 ODIs, Average 41, Highest score 63)
Dawid Malan (1 ODI, Average 24, Highest score 24)
James Vince (7 ODIs, Average 24.83, Highest score 51)
All-rounders:
Bowler/batter:
Ben Stokes: (79 ODIs, batting average 36.63. Highest score 104, Bowling right-arm fast-medium, 63 wickets, best of 5/63)
Moeen Ali: (91 ODIs, batting average 26.11, Highest score 128, Bowling right-arm off-break, 78 wickets, best of 4/46)
Joe Denly: (10 ODIs, batting average 27.6, Highest score 67, Bowling right-arm leg break, 1 wicket, best of 1/24)
Chris Woakes: (83 ODIs, batting average 26.64, Highest score 95, Bowling right-arm fast -medium, 116 wickets, best of 6/45)
Tom Curran: (14 ODIs, batting average 39.33, Highest score 47, Bowling right-arm fast-medium, 21 wickets, best of 5/35)
David Willey: (43 ODIs, batting average 18.93, Highest score 50, Bowling left-arm fast-medium, 48 wickets, best of 4/34)
Jofra Archer: (1 ODIs, no innings, Bowling right-arm fast-medium, 2 wickets, best of 2/29)
Wicket-keeper/ batter:
Jonny Bairstow: (58 ODIs, batting average 46.04, Highest score 141)
Jos Buttler: (126 ODIs, batting average 40.81, Highest score 150)
Specialist Bowlers:
Mark Wood: (39 ODIs, Right-arm fast, 41 wickets, 4/33)
Adil Rashid: (83 ODIs, batting average 19.39, Highest Score 69, Bowling right-arm leg-break, 129 wickets, best of 5/27)
Liam Plunkett: (78 ODIs, right-arm fast, 120 wickets, best of 5/52)
Chris Jordan: (31 ODIs, right-arm fast-medium, 43 wickets, 5/29)
England have some crucial decisions to make during the 5-match ODI series against Pakistan with 4 players set to miss out on a place in the World Cup 2019 final squad. It’s clear that the possibility of Archer’s inclusion in the final fifteen has ruffled some feathers with Chris Woakes recently saying:
“It probably wouldn’t be fair, morally, but at the same time it’s the nature of international sport. If he was to come in and someone was to miss out, it would be extremely unfortunate.
“We’ve been a tight-knit group for the last two to three years, played some really strong cricket, won a lot of series. I wouldn’t want to see any of my mates and teammates miss out.”
Can England find the perfect balance between talent, egos and team dynamics in time to begin their tournament next month? If they do, they look almost unstoppable, but if discord creeps into the team then form and spirit may plummet at just the wrong time.
Expat Sports’s Dan McTiernan takes a look at the impact of unscheduled forced changes to what was a relatively stable England line-up. Might the equilibrium in one of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019’s primary favourites be sufficiently disturbed, as a result of last minute squad upheavals, to undermine momentum and cause them to falter on home turf? The pre-tournament ODI series against Pakistan may give an indication dependent on inclement weather
