England name 14-man squad for T20 series with Pakistan

No players who are currently in the bubble at the Ageas Bowl for the Test squad will feature

England have named a 14-man squad (Action Images)

England have announced a 14-man squad for the upcoming T20i series against Pakistan.

No players who are currently in the bubble at the Ageas Bowl for the Test squad will feature, with the three matches to be played at Emirates Old Trafford under this season’s usual bio-secure, behind closed doors conditions. The first match begins on 28 August, three days after the fifth day of the final Test.

A notable omission is Hampshire’s James Vince, who played all three Ireland ODIs but scored just 57 from his three innings. Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), absent from that series through injury but boasting a fine T20 record, averaging 52 and striking at 153 per 100 balls from his 10 international appearances, has ultimately taken his position as a batsman. Both were part of the T20 squad that last played in South Africa earlier this year.

National selector Ed Smith, who spoke to Vince to inform him that he would not be part of this squad, said the decision was purely based on cricketing matters. Vince, who returned to his county after the Ireland matches, has not featured for Hampshire in their Bob Willis Trophy matches since.

“Dawid Malan was in the last T20 squad in South Africa, played in the last T20 game, Joe Denly was unwell and Dawid came into that game,” said Smith. “Dawid was in the squad and James wasn’t at that time and that’s how it stays.

“I think James is a very talented player, at his best James we all know has the skill to look absolutely at home in international cricket. I’m not saying anything different to you here that I said to James on the phone which is it’s just a question of him grabbing his opportunities. That’s one thing he’d be the first to say, and I think he has said it publicly, that for someone of his talent and his class he probably hasn’t grabbed his opportunities in the way he would have liked to have done. If they come around again I’m sure he’d be absolutely determined to really grab it.”

Chris Jordan (Sussex), who also missed the Ireland series, which England won 2-1, returns after recovering from injury. The reserves are Pat Brown (Worcestershire), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire) and Reece Topley (Surrey).

The coaching team for the series, which will be headed up by Graham Thorpe, will also be supplemented by former Pakistan international Azhar Mahmood, who worked for the BBC and Sky Sports as a pundit during the first two Tests.

Assistant coach Paul Collingwood will also be on hand, while Marcus Trescothick, has been seconded from Somerset as batting coach. England Young Lions coach Jon Lewis will be the bowling coach and former Essex wicketkeeper James Foster will take responsibility for the keepers.

Commenting on the selection of the squad, Smith, said: “In this crowded international summer, players who are currently in the Test match bio-secure bubble for the Pakistan Test series are not included in this squad. We want to give multi-format players some opportunity to rest and refresh, while still selecting strong squads for every series.”

The squad for the three Twenty20 and three ODIs will likely feature a handful of players who have been part of the Test squad. It is likely that players who did not feature across the majority of the Test matches against Pakistan and West Indies but are considered part of the white-ball set-up, such as Mark Wood, will be named in these squads.

“We will always balance the players’ physical situation, how they’re travelling after a long time in the bubble, we’ll look at the big picture,” said Smith. “We always try to. We do anticipate some of those players being available later in the white-ball summer. We will select that squad for Australia during the series against Pakistan.”

England Men’s IT20 Squad:

Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) (captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Sam Billings (Kent), Tom Curran (Surrey), Joe Denly (Kent), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire).

Vitality IT20 Series:

1st IT20 v Pakistan: Friday 28 August at Emirates Old Trafford (6.00pm start)

2nd IT20 v Pakistan: Sunday 30 August at Emirates Old Trafford (2.00pm start)

3rd IT20 v Pakistan: Tuesday 1 September at Emirates Old Trafford (6.00pm start)