NEW FACES LIKELY AS ENGLAND BUILD
Chris Stocks looks at how and why the Three Lions squad could have a few different names in this prolonged summer
Making a statement against Ireland could open the door for further opportunities beyond the Champions Trophy
While the forthcoming Champions Trophy is England’s priority for now, winning the 2019 World Cup on home soil remains their ultimate goal.
That makes the squad announcement at Edgbaston on Tuesday for next month’s two-match ODI series against Ireland significant.
National selector James Whitaker will also unveil his picks for the three-match series against South Africa that follows and the Champions Trophy on the same day in Birmingham. Don’t expect any major surprises.
Yet it is the Ireland series, which Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes will all miss due to Indian Premier League commitments, that is expected to see England offer a revealing glimpse as to their planning for 2019.
Up to three new players could receive a call-up next week – with Liam Livingstone, Toby Roland-Jones, Dawid Malan and Tom Westley all in the frame.
That quartet had impressive winters with the Lions, while all bar Westley also produced stand-out performances in the recent North v South 50-over series in the United Arab Emirates – a concept devised by Andrew Strauss, England’s director of cricket, to offer up-and-coming players a chance to stake a claim for ODI selection in the run-up to the 2019 World Cup.
Trevor Bayliss, England’s coach, witnessed all three of those games in the Emirates last month, while his assistant Paul Farbrace coached the South.
Both Farbrace and Bayliss, the Australian who admits his knowledge of the English domestic game is limited, could not have failed to be impressed with Livingstone, Roland-Jones and Malan.
Livingstone, the Lancashire spinning all-rounder, backed up a fine winter for the Lions with a half-century in the final match in Abu Dhabi.
The North lost all three games, butthe quality of Livingstone, 23, still shone through.
Malan, whose runs helped the South dominate, was the stand-out batsman, following up an unbeaten 109 in the first match in Dubai with 78 in the second as he averaged 98 for the series.
Roland-Jones, the Middlesex fast bowler picked in Tests squads last summer but yet to make his international debut, is most definitely expected to break that duck against Ireland after taking five wickets in the Lions’ 50-over series in Sri Lanka and then another five at 24 in the North v South matches. Westley, meanwhile, produced scores of 95, 97 and 68 in three innings during the Lions’ 50-over trip to Sri Lanka. Andy Flower, the former England coach who now runs the Lions programme and still has significant influence over selection, worked closely with Westley this winter and has given positive reports to Bayliss.
Significantly Whitaker was at Chelmsford for Essex’s clash with Lancashire during the opening round of County Championship matches to cast his eye over Westley and Livingstone.
While any four of those uncapped players could still make a late run into England’s Champions Trophy squad, it remains likely that whoever gets the nod for the Ireland series will be playing the long game in terms of selection for 2019 and the series that precede it.
With so much cricket this year – after their busiest-ever summer England leave home on October 29 for back-toback tours to Australia and New Zealand and do not return until April – there will be plenty of opportunities for new players to show what they can do in international limited-overs cricket over the coming months.
The one-day series against West Indies at the end of the summer and the white-ball series that bridge the gap between Test series in Australia and New Zealand are likely to see many senior players rested.
So making a statement against Ireland could open the door for further opportunities beyond the Champions Trophy.
In terms of planning for 2019 that can only be a good thing as England look to strengthen their already-strong limitedovers playing pool further.
Roland-Jones is the one uncapped player who still has a chance of making the Champions Trophy squad.
With England’s bowling a continued area of weakness in 50-over cricket, Roland-Jones might leapfrog ahead of county team-mate Steven Finn into the final 15-man squad.
Of the other selections for the tournament, there really is unlikely to be any surprises.
England’s team effectively picks itself after two years of rapid progression, with captain Eoin Morgan back in form and opener Alex Hales hitting a century on his return to the side against West Indies in Barbados in February following a hand injury.
In Buttler’s absence, Sam Billings is expected to be given the gloves for the Ireland matches and he is likely to see off competition from Jonny Bairstow to make the Champions Trophy squad.
Bairstow could get into most teams as a batsman anyway, and possibly will do for the Ireland matches. But with just 15 slots available for the Champions Trophy and little room for manoeuvre in the top six as it stands, Billings is the man England are likely to include as wicketkeeping and batting cover for the tournament itself.
In terms of seam-bowling options, Jake Ball, David Willey, Liam Plunkett and Roland-Jones might be the four England stick with for Ireland, South Africa and the Champions Trophy. As ever, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid will be England’s spinners, with Liam Dawson – whose attitude Bayliss loves – likely to be in as cover even if playing three slow bowlers in this country remains unlikely.
All will be revealed on Tuesday but expect some fresh blood for the first series of the summer at least.