T20 HEROICS EARN JORDAN SHOT AT WORLD CUP SQUAD

TREVOR BAYLISS believes Chris Jordan has forced his way into World Cup contention with his man-of-the-series Twenty20 performances in the Caribbean after England’s bowlers ‘raised the bar’ with their 3-0 demolition of West Indies. The England coach says Jordan (right), who last played a one-day international two-and-a-half years ago, will get his chance alongside his friend Jofra Archer against Pakistan in May to try to gatecrash England’s World Cup party. Even though England must name their World Cup squad on April 23, mainly for promotional purposes, they can make changes until May 22 and Bayliss clearly views the five-match 50-over series against Pakistan and the one-off game

in Ireland that precedes it as trials. ‘Certainly he’s a contender after what he has shown in these Twenty20 matches,’ said Bayliss after Jordan’s outstanding performances with the ball and in the field. ‘He’s obviously a good bowler but we’ve just felt we had better over the last few years. Now he’s thrown his hat in the ring.’ The emergence of Archer, who retains the support of influential voices in selection, has had a galvanising effect on England’s attack and has made that squad choice all the harder. ‘It’s great to see the guys raise the bar and put in the performances they did in the Twenty20 matches,’ said Bayliss, who will leave after the World Cup and Ashes. ‘There’s a little bit of difference between Twenty20 cricket and one-day internationals but you can take the confidence from one going into that World Cup. That’s got to be a bonus.’ Bayliss will find himself surrounded by an evolving coaching staff in the biggest summer in memory, with Paul Farbrace leaving for Warwickshire and Mark Ramprakash demoted ahead of the Ashes by new team director Ashley Giles. Australian Bayliss confirmed that Graham Thorpe will step into Ramprakash’s role but admits he was surprised the former England, Middlesex and Surrey batsman was not allowed to see out his contract until September. ‘I think you’ll find that Thorpey will do the job until the end of the summer and then, with me going, the whole structure will be looked at,’ added Bayliss. ‘I thought Ramps might stay until after the Ashes but Thorpey’s been around the squad for a while now.’