New faces set for call-up to England squad
ASHLEY Giles has paved the way for new faces in England’s first Test series of the summer against New Zealand.
The managing director of men’s cricket at the England and Wales Cricket Board has suggested players who recently returned from the postponed Indian Premier League into quarantine may be eased back into action gently.
Among those serving their 10-day isolation time in governmentapproved hotels are Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes - who all have red-ball central contracts - as well as the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali, who featured for the Test side over the winter.
With Ben Stokes and Dom Sibley out injured and Jofra Archer doubtful having just returned to action with Sussex’s 2nd XI, the need for possible reinforcements for the June 2 opening Test against the Black Caps is apparent.
Among the pace attack, Archer’s uncapped county colleague Ollie Robinson is well fancied to push for a debut following an eye-catching start to the county season, while
Somerset’s Craig Overton, who won the last of his four Test caps in September 2019, has been in superb form. As well as topping the wicket-taking charts with 32 victims at 13.96, the 27-year-old is an improving batsman and may hope to feature as an all-rounder.
Gloucestershire’s James Bracey, who has spent much of the past year in England bubbles, is averaging 52.70 and is a viable top order option.
Assessing the likely readiness of the IPL contingent, Giles said: “We’re going to treat it on a case-by-case basis. All these guys are in quarantine and have had a number of spells in quarantine and bubbles.
“We need to look after them, with the amount of cricket they’ve got coming up, we’re not going to rush or force them back into cricket.
“What we do know, and what’s not going to change, is the weight of cricket.
“We may also choose against New Zealand to look at some new faces. With the amount of other cricket we have to play, we almost want to get this tapering towards the Ashes. We have got to get that right.”