England have announced a 16-strong T20I squad to face India, and while the squad is largely as expected, there are still a few points of interest worth dwelling on.
Liam Livingstone is the one addition to the group which whitewashed South Africa at the end of 2020.
England are taking the T20 World Cup very seriously
England’s stated rotation policy will attempt to give all their all-format players a rest at some point this winter, but none of those prescribed breaks will come in the T20I leg of England’s tour of India, with a full-strength squad name. Given India are one of the favourites for the T20 World Cup, that tournament will be played in India, and that England have realistic hopes of securing an unprecedented white-ball double, there has arguably never been a more important T20I series to England’s hopes. But it’s still remarkable how that format is now seen, for this tour at least, as more important than Test cricket, with four key players missing part of that series.
Moeen Ali is likely to miss the ODI series
A factual point of order, but a notable one. Moeen Ali is the one all-format player yet to have a period away set aside for him, so he will most likely miss the ODI series which follows the T20Is. His weaker returns in the 50-over format meant he was left out for England’s most recent two ODIs in any case.
Will England’s back-up spinner please stand up?
That ODI squad could be revealing as to the hierarchy of England’s white-ball spinners. The Moeen-Adil Rashid axis has been so dominant that it’s unclear who the next cab off the rank is. For a time Liam Dawson served as a capable understudy, but a significant injury lay-off means that even a return for the start of the English summer isn’t certain. Mason Crane and Matt Parkinson, two leading spinners in English domestic cricket, are both leg-spinners like Rashid, with the finger-spin cupboard bare. Will Jacks’ poor BBL campaign, off the back of a superb T20 Blast, has dimmed his prospects too.
Could Liam Livingstone be England’s finisher?
The one addition to the squad is Liam Livingstone, who enjoyed an excellent BBL campaign. While he opened through that tournament for Perth Scorchers, his incendiary talents, combined with his leg-spin option, means he could provide some all-round skill and big hits at the end of an innings to balance a side. If nothing else, his call-up should shut up a few vocal Aussie crowd members.
"I was told if I was any good I'd be in India, which is a fair point…"
Liam Livingstone's #BBL10 exploits haven't impressed all the Aussie fans.pic.twitter.com/K7PLVwsShG
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 6, 2021
James Vince remains on the outer, but hope for Alex Hales
Livingstone was good during the BBL, but the two standout English performers were undoubtedly Alex Hales and James Vince, who finished first and second in the run charts respectively. While Hales’ continued absence is for well known, non-cricketing reasons, Vince clearly still has work to do to break into an all-powerful top order, especially after middling returns in the England opportunities he has got. National selector Ed Smith offered half a lifeline to Hales ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup, suggesting his reintegration could begin with an invite to some England training sessions this summer.
