ZCZC
BSP-12
CRICKET-ENG
No place for Hales or Plunkett as England name 55-man training group
LONDON, May 29, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Alex Hales and World Cup-winner Liam
Plunkett were both left out of a mammoth 55-man England training group
announced Friday.
But 13 uncapped players were selected, as England look to stage a full Test
and limited-overs programme against West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and
Australia, despite the coronavirus delaying the start of their home season
until at least July.
Among those recalled was David Willey, who lost his place in the one-day
squad to Jofra Archer shortly before England won the World Cup for the first
time last year.
Official squads will be named at a later date, with three Tests against the
West Indies, set to be played behind closed doors at bio-secure venues, first
up for England this season.
The group will not train in one place, but with individual sessions across
several county venues, that started with bowlers back in the nets last week,
the only form of training allowed at present.
“It’s really pleasing to be in a position to have players returning to
training and a huge amount of work has been done by many to get us this far,”
said England and Wales Cricket Board performance director Mo Bobat, who helped
England coach Chris Silverwood and the selectors compile the list.
“The pool of players will give selectors strong options when it comes to
selecting squads across formats further down the line, as we move closer to
our aim of playing international cricket this summer.”
Nottinghamshire opener Hales was dropped shortly before last year’s World
Cup after it emerged he had tested positive for drugs.
There had been speculation that, with England likely to need separate red
and white-ball squads, Hales might be recalled.
But England one-day captain Eoin Morgan dashed Hales’ hopes on Wednesday
when he said “it will take more time” for him to regain the trust of the
squad.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old fast bowler Plunkett has not played for England
since taking three wickets in the dramatic World Cup final victory over New
Zealand at Lord’s.
England training group:
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Dom
Bess, Sam Billings, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Henry Brookes, Pat Brown, Rory
Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Mason Crane, Zak Crawley, Sam
Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Joe Denly, Ben Duckett, Laurie Evans, Ben
Foakes, Richard Gleeson, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Keaton
Jennings, Chris Jordan, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Liam
Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan, Craig Overton, Jamie
Overton, Matt Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root,
Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, James
Vince, Amar Virdi, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
BSS/AFP/MMA/1650HRS