England name provisional 30-man squad for ICC World Twenty20
The England selectors today announced England’s provisional 30-man squad for the forthcoming ICC World Twenty20 to be staged in England in June.
The men’s squad, which will be halved to 15 players on May 1, does not include the current England Test and One-Day International captain Andrew Strauss. The selectors will name the England Twenty20 captain once a comprehensive review of the recently concluded West Indies tour has taken in place in conjunction with the incoming England Team Director.
The 30-man squad contains five players yet to be capped at international level including Joe Denly (Kent), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Graham Napier (Essex), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)and Chris Woakes(Warwickshire).
England National Selector, Geoff Miller, said: “Andrew Strauss had an outstanding tour of the West Indies during a difficult winter. Andrew and the selectors believe his game is better suited to Test and ODI cricket and it is for that reason he has not been selected in the preliminary 30-man squad for the forthcoming ICC World Twenty20. Andrew is focused on the Test and ODI format of the game despite not being included in the 30-man Twenty20 squad.
“The selectors have decided against naming a captain for the ICC World Twenty20 at this stage because we feel it is important to comprehensively review the recent tour of the Caribbean and seek input from all relevant parties including the incoming England Team Director who is yet to be appointed. Once these processes have been achieved the selectors will name England’s Twenty20 captain in due course.
“We have a wealth of talented players in the 30-man squad who have proved themselves adept at limited overs cricket so there are several options for the selectors to consider before reducing the squad to 15 players at the start of next month. We have an encouraging blend of experience and youth in this preliminary squad including a number ofuncapped players who will be eager to make their international debut at home during what promises to be an fantastic tournament in June.”
England 30-man ICC World Twenty20 squad
1. Kabir Ali (Worcestershire)
2. James Anderson (Lancashire)
3. Gareth Batty (Worcestershire)
4. Ian Bell (Warwickshire)
5. Ravi Bopara (Essex)
6. Timothy Bresnan (Yorkshire)
7. Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
8. Paul Collingwood (Durham)
9. Stephen Davies (Worcestershire)
10. Joe Denly (Kent)
11. James Foster (Essex)
12. Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire)
13. Stephen Harmison (Durham)
14. Robert Key (Kent)
15. Sajid Mahmood (Lancashire)
16. Dimitri Mascarenhas (Hampshire)
17. Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
18. Graham Napier (Essex)
19. Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
20. Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire)
21. Liam Plunkett (Durham)
22. Matthew Prior (Sussex)
23. Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
24. Owais Shah (Middlesex)
25. Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire)
26. Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire)
27. Christopher Tremlett (Hampshire)
28. Sean Udal (Middlesex)
29. Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
30. Luke Wright (Sussex)
Is it just me or can Strauss not be accommodated in the team as a middle-order player?!
As far as the captaincy is concerned, for me it’s a case of ‘anyone but Rob Key’, do Dmitri Mascarenhas, Hampshire Captain, would get my vote! If the captain will only be for the tournament I would even go for Shaun Udal, who led Middlesex to glory last time around!