England have blended World Cup-winning experience with an injection of fresh blood when naming a 24-man training squad for the upcoming three-match one-day international series against Ireland in Southampton.
A packed schedule in which Eoin Morgan’s side will be in action from 30 July to 4 August – the week between Test series against West Indies and Pakistan – prevents Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer taking part.
However, Saqib Mahmood, a reserve in the current Test setup, will be allowed to move across to the second biosecure bubble, with Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali, red-ball players who were trimmed before the West Indies series began, joining him.
There are eight members of the 2019 World Cup-winning squad included and, at the other end of the experience spectrum, seven cricketers who are yet to represent England in any format. They now have a chance to push for a spot in the final, trimmed-down squad that will be named nearer the time.
Among them are four uncapped seamers – Henry Brookes, Brydon Carse, Richard Gleeson and Tom Helm – while Reece Topley, who last played for England during the 2016 World T20, has battled back from injury and offers a second left-arm option alongside David Willey.
Phil Salt, Laurie Evans and Sam Hain are the new batsmen under consideration, the last of these boasting the all-time highest List A average in the world – 59.78 from 58 matches for Warwickshire and England Lions – and a candidate to deputise for Root at No 3.
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) capt, Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Sam Billings (Kent), Henry Brookes (Warwickshire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Tom Curran (Surrey), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Laurie Evans (Sussex), Richard Gleeson (Lancashire), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Tom Helm (Middlesex), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Matthew Parkinson (Lancashire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Sussex), Reece Topley (Surrey), James Vince (Hampshire), David Willey (Yorkshire).
Royal London Series
1st ODI v Ireland: Thursday 30 Jul at the Ageas Bowl (2pm start D/N)
2nd ODI v Ireland: Saturday 1 Aug at the Ageas Bowl (2.00pm D/N)
3rd ODI v Ireland: Tuesday 4 Aug at the Ageas Bowl (2.00pm D/N)
Ed Smith, the national selector, said: “Even with several multi-format players unavailable, there is real depth to England’s white-ball playing talent.”
Injuries have ruled out Pat Brown (back), Dawid Malan (calf) and Chris Jordan (arm), while the need for a separate support staff from the Test bubble means Paul Collingwood is the stand-in head coach, with assistance from Marcus Trescothick and Jon Lewis, the England Under-19s head coach.
Another Jon Lewis, the former Durham head coach who recently worked with Sri Lanka, is also part of this coaching setup, along with Neil Killeen, James Foster and Claude Henderson, the former South Africa left-arm spinner.
