Jordan’s been a hit, but Moeen’s a miss

ENGLAND have completed their Caribbean tour with the final Twenty20 in St Kitts. Here we look at who was hot and who was not on the white-ball leg of the trip, ahead of England naming their World Cup squad.

HOT Mark Wood

It all started with a heart-to-heart with Trevor Bayliss in Sri Lanka and continued with the adoption of a new longer run-up. Then Wood bowled at 152kph during his man-of-the-match performance in the final Test in St Lucia and he carried on with pace and purpose throughout the one-day series. Now, fitness permitting, he is a certain World Cup and Ashes starter.

Chris Jordan

Jordan was once the next big thing from Barbados. Now, on the eve of his great friend Jofra Archer qualifying, Jordan used the Twenty20s to show he should be regarded as much more than a shortest-form specialist. Could it be that Jordan, as well as Archer, will now be on the World Cup radar?

Graham Thorpe

A batsman good enough to play 100 Tests has been, in his own quiet way, a highly-regarded coach for some time. Now he is about to be promoted at the expense of Mark Ramprakash to become England’s main batting coach. A good summer will see Thorpe become one of the assistants to the new head coach in September, well deserved recognition for one of the game’s good guys.

NOT Moeen Ali (pictured)

Miserable time with bat and ball, and fodder for Chris Gayle on small grounds. It was no surprise when Moeen asked to miss the Twenty20s to get some rest. It is a shame he is playing in the IPL ahead of England’s biggest summer. He is a key man and needs to come back fresh.

Chris Woakes

Tour to forget. His bowling was expensive in the one-dayers, particularly in Grenada and St Lucia. Woakes admitted his chronic knee problem flared up a couple of days before the first Test and led to England handling him with care. The worry is if it happens again during the World Cup.

Jofra Archer

Influential figures in the set-up want to fast-track the exciting Archer into England’s World Cup and Ashes squads but did the tide turn in the T20s? Jordan was superb, Tom Curran showed he remains one of the best death bowlers around and David Willey, prickly about the newcomer, stated his case in the final two games. | Daily Mail