Liam Plunkett has said that he felt that he was “dealt with really badly” after England’s World Cup win last year, explaining that he found out about his omission from last winter’s white-ball squads on Twitter.
Plunkett, now 35, was one of England’s unsung stars at the 2019 World Cup. England won all seven matches Plunkett took part in and his 3-42 in the final included the crucial wicket of Kane Williamson, who was named Player of the Tournament after the final. Plunkett was not awarded a central contract shortly after England’s World Cup win and has not been selected in an England squad since.
Speaking on The Tuffers and Vaughan Cricket Show, Plunkett said that he was disappointed with the way he was treated after England’s World Cup win. “To be honest with you, I felt that my ship sailed [on his omission from England’s 55-man training group]. I thought speaking to people in the past, I think I came out and spoke about it in the paper… I thought it was dealt with really badly after the World Cup.
“[I had] a sort of brief chat with management, they didn’t really speak to me and say, ‘You’re not going to be involved’ and for the selections this winter, I found out from Twitter that I wasn’t involved in the squad which obviously disappointed me because I’d been involved in that World Cup.
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“I think if someone just spoke me and just said, ‘Listen, this is the route we’re going, we’re going down a bit younger [route], you’re not going to play in the next World Cup’, I’m happy, I’ve just played the last four years, won the World Cup, I’m more than happy to step aside. But I think it was just the way it was dealt with. So for me, I didn’t even know until I got a phone call from Ed Smith that this group of players were getting together. So when I got a phone call to say that you’re not in the squad and I was like, ‘Well, alright, I wasn’t expecting to be in the squad.’
[breakout id=”0”][/breakout] “I’m not going to sit and be upset that I’m not in, I’m not bitter about it. Eight months ago I was disappointed with the way it was dealt with but now I want people to come in and do well, I’ve got nothing against them. Do I feel like I’m still good enough to be in that one-day squad? Absolutely. But they’re going in the direction of the younger group for the next World Cup, so that’s fair enough for me.”
