Heartache for Willey
DavID WIlley looks set for World Cup agony today when england leave him out of their World Cup squad, even though he has been a regular member of the side who have soared to the top of the rankings. Willey is the odd man out of the final party to make room for the exciting talent of Jofra archer, whose inclusion in the squad was first revealed in February by Sportsmail. There also seems certain to be disappointment for Joe Denly, who loses out to liam Dawson.
DAVID WILLEY looks certain to be the odd man out when England name their World Cup squad today. A long meeting of the selectors at Lord’s last night appeared to conclude that Willey will make way for Jofra Archer. The Barbadian-born paceman claims the final bowling place for which he seems to have been destined since he qualified for the land of his father. There will also be disappointment for Joe Denly, with Hampshire’s Liam Dawson coming in as back-up spinner, even though he was not selected for England’s 17-man squad for the warm-up series against Pakistan. It will be a cruel blow for Willey, who has been a regular member of England’s squad on their rise to the top of the one-day rankings, ever since they identified the need for a left-arm swing bowler in their attack. But an impressive series against Pakistan with ball and bat by his nearest rival Tom Curran, plus captain Eoin Morgan’s faith in the enduring wicket-taking skills of Liam Plunkett, have left Willey on the outside. The Yorkshire bowler will be told his World Cup dream is not yet over and he will be put on stand-by for a six-week tournament that is likely to see injuries play a part. Mark Wood in particular is still having problems with his fragile left ankle. Denly owed his place in the provisional squad to the belief of national selector Ed Smith that he is the perfect utility player who can cover the top seven batsmen, with his leg-spin providing cover for Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali. Yet it has become clear Denly is not the best option as spare spinner and, once England had decided James Vince was the best option as their back-up opener in the absence of Alex Hales, the Kent man became vulnerable. Left-arm spinner Dawson only lost his white-ball place in Sri Lanka last winter because of injury and the selectors are happy outstanding form for his county is enough match practice to throw him straight into the squad, with warm-up matches to come against Australia on Saturday and Afghanistan on Monday. Smith will reveal the squad at Lord’s this morning, but it is very much Morgan’s group, with England keen to give the captain the players he wants. ‘If ever it gets down to stalemate in our talks, then the captain will have a big say,’ coach Trevor Bayliss said after England sealed a 4-0 win over Pakistan in the Royal London series at Headingley on Sunday. ‘He’s got to be the one comfortable walking out with the other 10 players. ‘Whatever 15 we end up with I will be happy, because everyone deserves to be there, but we will all feel for whoever misses out.’