England have included two of their coaches as substitute fielders for the second ODI against India in Cuttack today (February 9).
England made three changes to their lineup for the second ODI after the defeat in the first in Nagpur. Jamie Overton, Mark Wood, and Gus Atkinson all made their way in for Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, and Jacob Bethell.
Along with the replacements in the playing XI, the rest of the lineup named for the match also saw some interesting changes as assistant coach Paul Collingwood and batting coach Marcus Trescothick were both named as substitute fielders for the second ODI.
Why are coaches listed as sub fielders?
The England playing contingent has been hit by multiple injury concerns. All-rounder Jacob Bethell suffered a hamstring injury in the first ODI, ruling him out of the second and forcing England to name a cover in the form of Tom Banton for the third. It has also put his participiation in the Champions Trophy in doubt.
Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith is also nursing an injury. The wicketkeeper-batter suffered a calf injury during the third of the five T20Is that preceeded the ODIs and had to leave the field mid-way through the innings. He has not been picked in the XI in the four matches since.
That leaves only two other squad members - Archer and Carse, both of whom have been rested for the second ODI, for substitute fielder duties.
Match 2nd ODI, India vs England
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Is this the first time England have named coaches as substitutes?
During England's Test tour of India last year, Collingwood and Trescothick had been listed as substitutes in the fifth Test of the series in Dharamshala after Ollie Robinson was unable to travel to the ground due to illness.
Before that, Collingwood has been listed as a sub-fielder multiple times: in an ODI against New Zealand in 2014, in a tour match against Cicket Australia XI ahead of the 2017-18 Ashes. Both Collingwood and Trescothick have also run the drinks for England a few times before during their coaching tenure.
ICC's playing conditions for ODIs state that a team can name a maximum of four substitute fielders during toss time.
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