England announce 15-man squad for Champions Trophy 2017
The England Cricket Board has announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy and the South Africa series, set to be held in England and Wales. The team will be captained by Eoin Morgan. The board also announced a 14-member squad for the Ireland series that precedes the Champions Trophy, scheduled to begin on June 1.
Mark Wood, the Durham seamer, will make his return for the first time since September last year. He will be joined by David Willey, who did not play the series against West Indies in March due to a shoulder injury.
“It is pleasing that Mark Wood and David Willey have returned to full fitness. They add variety and quality to our bowling strengths and David’s ability as an attacking batsman is also an important element for us”, a statement from the ECB said.
For the Ireland series, three main players: Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes haven’t been selected, because of their IPL commitments. They will return to the England shores on 15th May. For the Ireland series, Ben Duckett and Steven Finn have been included in the squad.
Jason Roy, who is part of the Gujarat Lions squad in the IPL, had expressed his displeasure at getting limited chances for the IPL franchise. He has been included in the 14-man squad for the Ireland series, and is likely to join the England squad before the first match on 5th May. The series against Ireland is followed by three-match ODI series against South Africa from May 24 to May 29. The two series will serve as ideal practice to the core of the squad that will play the Champions Trophy right after.
Also read: IPL 2017: Frustrated Jason Roy could leave Gujarat Lions midway through the tournament
The national selector, James Whitaker, said: “We have made encouraging progress over the past 18 months in white ball cricket and the squads selected reflects consistency and gives options across all disciplines”.
England play their first match on the opening day of the tournament, against Bangladesh at the KIA Oval. They then face off New Zealand at Cardiff on June 6, and follow it with their third game against Australia on June 10, at Birmingham.
The following is the full list of the 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy:
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.