There has not been much good news for Durham cricketers in the last fortnight, with two crushing defeats in the Championship adding to the woes of a club with serious financial difficulties. But they can at least cheer the return of two of their stalwart cricketers to the England set-up.
Ben Stokes and Mark Wood have been included in England’s one-day squad for the five matches against Pakistan, which will decide the outcome of the “Super Series”, a format that did not quite catch fire when Sri Lanka were touring. By contrast this is close: England and Pakistan currently share eight points.
For Stokes it was simply a question of demonstrating his fitness after an immensely frustrating summer, which culminated in a calf injury. He returns without any recent cricket in the bank. The same applies to Jos Buttler, who has been sidelined with a broken thumb, and, to a lesser extent, the captain Eoin Morgan, who chipped a finger bone on 26 July.
The assumption now is that these players can slip straight back into the fray without precious time in the middle, a heresy to a previous generation. In the recent past Morgan has managed this with surprising ease. However this state of affairs means that a remarkably high proportion of players in the England team will be feeling their way when the two sides meet at the Ageas Bowl next week.
The recall of Wood was not so automatic, at least not until the injury to Steven Finn, which was acquired in the final embers of the Test series. Wood, at least, has played some cricket with white and red ball in the last fortnight after two operations and several months on the sidelines. The presence of Wood adds some pace to the attack and some welcome, quirky humour to the dressing room. His selection also provides an opportunity to assess his bowling before selecting sides for the winter tours.
Increasingly red- and white-ball cricket are taken in isolation. This represents progress, which has been most obvious in the performances of England’s one-day side. Fewer players appear in both formats of the game and this has also brought greater energy to the team’s white-ball cricket. Increasingly it is hard to fathom why the think-tank was ever so eager to have the same captain for all formats, which was how England ended up with Kevin Pietersen as captain. Now it is reckoned to be preferable to have different captains.
However, this does not mean that performances in ODI cricket have absolutely no bearing on the selection of Test squads. If Wood, for example, bowls at 92mph and takes early wickets swinging the white ball, Alastair Cook, as Test captain, and Trevor Bayliss will be very interested. Indeed Bayliss intimated after the last ODIs against Sri Lanka that Buttler was in such good touch that he must be considered for a return to Test cricket (it did not happen since Bayliss does not always get his way, whereupon the argument became futile once Buttler had broken his thumb).
By the same token the performances of Alex Hales will have some relevance beyond this series, if only to see he has recovered his equilibrium after his Oval wobble. At least he has the consolation of being comfortable in this format and the knowledge that his future Test prospects are based on his runs in the middle rather the odd aberration with the third umpire.
However, there is no chance for James Vince to impress with international runs after his exasperating performances in the Tests. He must return to domestic cricket, but his county colleague, Liam Dawson, is a happier man. Dawson is the only uncapped member of the squad in ODI cricket, though he has appeared in one T20 international against Sri Lanka in July. Another all-rounder,who started life as a batsman he is capable of bowling some handy spinners. Recently he has been far more effective bowling with a white ball.
Otherwise the selectors have stuck to the existing pecking order after a successful campaign against Sri Lanka. This means that Ben Duckett of Northamptonshire, who smashed 220 not out for the England Lions against Sri Lanka A in July on top of an unbeaten 163, is required to wait his turn.
England ODI squad v Pakistan
E Morgan (Middlesex, capt), M Ali (Worcs), J Bairstow (Yorks), J Buttler (Lancs, wkt), L Dawson (Hants), C Jordan (Sussex), A Hales (Notts), L Plunkett (Yorks), A Rashid (Yorks), J Root (Yorks), J Roy (Surrey), B Stokes (Durham), D Willey (Yorks), C Woakes (Warks), M Wood (Durham).
One-Day International series
Wednesday 24 August
Ageas Bowl, 2pm
Saturday 27 August
Lord’s, 10.30am
Tuesday 30 August
Trent Bridge, 2pm
Thursday 1 September
Headingley, 2pm
Sunday 4 September
Swalec Stadium, 10.30am
