England announce squads for Pakistan series; Jayawardene and Collingwood to join team in consultancy role
England have announced the Test, ODI & T20 squads for their series against Pakistan starting in October, Wisden India reports. Alex Hales, Zafar Ansari, and James Taylor feature in the Test side while Joe Root and Jos Butler were recalled to the ODI side, with Ben Stokes rested this time around.
The ECB also decided to draft in Paul Collingwood and Mahela Jayawardene as consultants for the series to be played in the UAE. England will play three Tests, four ODIs and three T20s against Pakistan.
Adam Lyth paid the price for a disappointing Ashes campaign by being axed from the Test side while Gary Ballance, who was dropped after the second Ashes Test which England lost by 405 runs continued to be overlooked. Hales was chosen as Cook’s partner up front, England’s seventh opener since the retirement of Strauss in 2012, despite performing below expectations in the recently concluded ODI series.
Hales’ record of 886 runs at an average of 52 in Division One for Nottinghamshire came in his favour while Surrey all-rounder Ansari and James Taylor, who was second highest run-getter in the ODI series against Australia, also found a place in the Test team.
Test squad: Alastair Cook, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Zafar Ansari, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood
Root, who was rested for the ODI series after his exploits in the Ashes series was recalled with Ben Stokes being rested this time. Butler who was dropped midway during the series has also been recalled. 21-year-old left-armer Reece Topley who made his ODI debut in the fifth ODI at Old Trafford also retained his place in the squad.
Kent wicketkeeper Sam Billings makes it to both the ODI & T20 squads despite featuring only in the lone T20 against Australia. Stephen Parry and Chris Jordan has alos been recalled for the T20 squad, with the latter having recovered fully from injury.
One-Day International squad: Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Taylor, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
T20 squad: Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Stephen Parry, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Former England skipper Paul Collingwood and Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene in a consultancy role for the series with the former set to remain with the team until the end of the 2016 T20 World Cup.