England have resisted the urge to recall Stuart Broad to their one-day squad after naming an unchanged party for next month’s tour to the Caribbean that features 14 players from the defeat in India and leaves a space open for Alex Hales to yet prove his fitness.
With the bowling attack having shipped 1,053 runs in the recent 2-1 series defeat to Virat Kohli’s side, talk of a recall for Broad had begun to gather some momentum with Eoin Morgan, the England captain, praising his recent efforts playing Twenty20 for Hobart Hurricanes in Australia’s Big Bash League.
Broad has played just two one-dayers since the 2015 World Cup, in South Africa last year, but remains keen to be part of England’s one-day plans and add to the 178 wickets he has claimed from his 121 caps to date.
The Durham fast bowler Mark Wood was also hopeful of being in contention for the three-week trip that begins on 22 February following ankle surgery, while Steven Finn and Chris Jordan, who is in the Twenty20 side, were also vying for places.
The selectors have instead kept faith in the seamers Chris Woakes, Jake Ball, Liam Plunkett and David Willey, as well as the spinners Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and the unused Liam Dawson. “We felt it was important to keep faith with the squad that competed during the recent tour of India,” said James Whitaker, the national selector.
Hales, who broke his right hand during the second one-day international in Cuttack and is missing the Twenty20 series, has not been included in the initial list of players to face the West Indies but with no replacement named, he could still be added to the squad nearer the time.
The 28-year-old opener underwent surgery last week and while he is unlikely to be ready for the start of the trip, there remains a chance the break suffered while claiming a catch in the deep may have healed in time for the first of three one-day internationals in Antigua on 3 March, with his cast due to come off the week before.
Despite having scored four one-day centuries since the last World Cup – a figure only matched in the England squad by Joe Root – Hales will be desperate to feature in the series after seeing Sam Billings impress since replacing him at the top of the order in the final one-day international and the ongoing Twenty20 series.
Billings, who will continue in the role for Sunday’s second Twenty20 in Nagpur, has made scores of 35 and 22 since coming in for Hales and when asked if he was hoping to make the place his own, he replied: “I think from a team point of view it’s incredibly healthy to have that kind of issue but personally it’s hard not to think like that.
“It’s nice to get a run of games and feel as though you can go out and express yourself without thinking: ‘I’ve got one game here.’ It shows the strength in depth in the squad at the moment, especially in the batting.”
If Hales has the greater back catalogue, including the English one-day record 171 he made against Pakistan last summer, then Billings is certainly the superior fielder, something the Kent right-hander believes could give him an edge should a future selection call be tight.
Billings said: “That’s initially why I got in the Kent team. It was between Daniel Bell-Drummond and I back before that first year and my fielding tipped the balance. I do pride myself on my fielding and I want to be one of the best fielders, which is pretty tough when you’ve got blokes like Ben Stokes and Jason Roy as well. But that’s the level we want to get to from one to 11.”
England are playing only white-ball cricket in the lead up to hosting the Champions Trophy in June, with the Caribbean tour that ends in Barbados on 9 March followed by two one-day internationals against Ireland and a three-match series against South Africa in May.
England squad for ODI series against West Indies
M Ali (Worcestershire), J Bairstow (Yorkshire), J Ball (Nottinghamshire), S Billings (Kent), J Buttler (Lancashire), L Dawson (Hampshire), E Morgan (Middlesex, capt), L Plunkett (Yorkshire), A Rashid (Yorkshire), J Root (Yorkshire), J Roy (Surrey), B Stokes (Durham), D Willey (Yorkshire), C Woakes (Warwickshire)
Fixtures
Warm-up match (50 overs), WICB President’s XI v England XI, Saturday February 25 2017, Warner Park, St. Kitts & Nevis (9.30am AST, 1.30pm GMT)
Warm-up match (50 overs), WICB President’s XI v England XI, Monday February 27 2017, Warner Park, St. Kitts & Nevis (9.30am AST, 1.30pm GMT)
First ODI, West Indies v England, Friday March 3 2017, Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua (9.30am AST, 1.30pm GMT)
Second ODI, West Indies v England, Sunday March 5 2017, Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua (9.30am AST, 1.30pm GMT)
Third ODI, West Indies v England, Thursday March 9 2017, Kensington Oval, Barbados (9.30am AST, 1.30pm GMT)
