England have named their first limited overs squads following their calamitous World Cup defence in India.
The two white-ball series in the Caribbean fulfil contrasting functions; the three-match ODI series marks the start of four-year World Cup cycle while the five T20Is act as important preparation for a T20 World Cup just around the corner in the same conditions.
As expected, the 15-man ODI squad saw an overhaul of personnel with just six players retained from the group selected for the World Cup. Jos Buttler, who remains captain of both limited overs sides, is the only player older than 30 to be included in the squad with the majority of the World Cup squad, for the time being at least, moved on. England’s attention is firmly set on the 2027 tournament.
There are few surprises in the identity of the new faces with the squad bearing a strong resemblance to the one selected for the home Ireland series in late September. Test top-order regulars Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope are all included, as are Will Jacks and Phil Salt who opened together in that rain-affected series against Ireland. Sam Hain is a surprise exclusion from the squad that took on Ireland but with Pope once again fit, it is understandable that there is a desire to give the Test vice-captain 50-over experience. The 25-year-old has played just three List A games in the last four years.
Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley are the squad’s two spinners while the seamers are all recent recipients of central contracts. Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue were all awarded two-year contracts despite boasting 25 international appearances between them; all three will likely be given decent runs in ODI cricket over the next two years. The other new face, the uncapped Hampshire seamer John Turner, was given a development contract last month.
The headline figure of nine changes from the World Cup squad is dramatic, but there is perhaps more continuation than anticipated. The leadership duo of Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler have been persisted with and two of England’s most disappointing players at the World Cup – Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone – have been retained. Both are highly rated T20 players, but neither has really forged a clear role in 50-over cricket. Curran averages nearly 40 with an economy rate above six from 29 ODIs; his average and economy are both higher than his brother Tom’s who has not played ODI cricket in more than two years. Livingstone, meanwhile, has yet to establish himself as a consistent top-seven better or a bankable 10-over option with the ball. Their respective inclusions speak of an absence of young all-rounders outside the national set-up banging the door down.
There was a surprise in the T20I squad with Dawid Malan, fresh off a decent 50-over campaign in India, not included. Malan endured a tough summer in the shortest formats but was still included for England’s most recent T20I series at home to New Zealand in September. At 36 and now out of contention in all three formats it is entirely possible that Malan has made his last international appearance. His omission is perhaps indicative of an element of inconsistency in the latest batch of central contracts. There has been no T20 cricket played since he was awarded a one-year deal, yet he is now out of the T20I squad, the only format he was likely to be involved in following the 50-over World Cup given his age. It is almost an identical situation that David Willey found himself in, yet one was given a contract and the other wasn’t.
There were several notable inclusions in the fast bowling group selected for the T20I squad. Turner, Tongue and Atkinson were named in both squads while there was also a recall for Tymal Mills more than a year after his last England appearance following an excellent Hundred campaign that saw him finish the tournament as its leading wicket-taker.
