Last week English cricket was plunged into chaos after a Covid-19 outbreak forced an entire 16-man ODI squad into isolation. In came a whole new 18-man squad just two days out from the start of the series, and the first-teamers have hardly been missed.

Going into the third and final ODI, England have already wrapped up a series win, giving credence to those lauding the country’s depth in white-ball cricket. With 34 names having been in the mix for the series so far, you’ve got three XIs sorted there – so what could a 4th XI ODI side look like?

We take a look at players who could do a job for England beyond the 34, missing star names (Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer) and others who would have been in strong contention for the original squad had injury not struck (Reece Topley and Olly Stone).

Daniel Bell-Drummond – Kent

Beyond a fine List-A record – Bell-Drummond averages 42.26 after 88 innings – the Kent batsman has been an explosive presence at the top of the order in the T20 cricket over the last year. After topping the Blast run-scoring charts last year, the 27-year-old has averaged more than 30 in this year’s tournament at a strike rate closing in on 160.

Alex Hales – Nottinghamshire

Yes, he’s still in exile, but Hales is widely regarded as one of England’s white-ball batsmen and earns his name somewhere if not in an international squad.

Stevie Eskinazi – Middlesex

Only Bell-Drummond hit more Blast runs last year than Eskinazi, who has been one of the leading batters in the competitions again in 2021. Back in 2019 – when the One-Day Cup was last held – Eskinazi averaged 46.71 after nine innings while striking at 106.16.

Sam Hain – Warwickshire

Hain continues to be ignored by England despite holding a quite extraordinary List-A record. In 56 innings, Hain has reached fifty on 25 occasions and possesses an overall average of 59.78. A regular for the Lions in recent years, Hain was in England’s 55-man training squad last summer but the wait goes on for a first cap.

Joe Clarke – Nottinghamshire

Clarke made his name as a youngster in red-ball cricket but has made more of an impression in the shortest form recently, landing gigs at the BBL and PSL in the process. He played a staggering knock earlier this summer against Northants for Notts, smashing 136 off 65 balls in a Blast win.

Ben Foakes (wk) – Surrey

Currently on the sidelines with injury, Foakes could have been an attractive proposition for England to call upon last week when a new squad was needed. Foakes has played just one ODI, back in 2019, and was Player of the Match in a win over Ireland after hitting an unbeaten 61 in a tricky chase.

Jordan Thompson – Yorkshire

A seam-bowling all-rounder who has impressed consistently for Yorkshire since the start of last year’s Bob Willis Trophy, the left-hander can send the ball a long way, as demonstrated by a T20 strike rate of 167.08.

Ollie Robinson – Sussex

Test cricket is Robinson’s sole international domain right now, yet he could make an impression for himself in limited-overs cricket later this summer in The Hundred, in which he’s replaced the retired Harry Gurney at Manchester Originals.

Matthew Potts – Durham

The 22-year-old right-arm quick from Durham is building up an impressive T20 record: after 33 matches, he has 44 wickets at an average of just 20.79. An impressive T20 Blast campaign last year led to him being picked up by Northern Superchargers this February for The Hundred.

Sam Cook – Essex

Another bowler set to feature in The Hundred, Cook is a parsimonious seamer from Essex who has done his best work with the red ball but can hold his own in limited-overs cricket too, as demonstrated by the 15 Blast wickets he’s taken this year at 19.33.

Mason Crane – Hampshire

The Hampshire leggie made his international debut in a T20I against South Africa four years ago and it’s in limited-overs cricket that he’s done his best work at domestic level – 67 List-A wickets have come at an average of 29.98, while 54 T20 ones have come at 20.85.