Mark Footitt included in England's 14-man pre-Ashes camp
The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced a squad of 14 members for a pre-Ashes training camp in Spain that will begin on June 27. Derbyshire’s Mark Footitt is the only uncapped player who has been included in the squad, giving the strongest indication yet that he could be in the mix for the first Ashes Test at Cardiff.
Footitt provides England’s attack a different dimension as a result of being a left-arm quick bowler and has been in brilliant form in the ongoing county season, picking up 32 wickets at an average of 24 to give him the distinction of being Derbyshire’s highest wicket-taker this season.
England director of cricket Andrew Strauss informed that the purpose of the camp is to make sure that the players are well acquainted with new coach Trevor Bayliss.
"With Trevor Bayliss arriving in the country next Thursday, Trevor, Alastair and I felt it important that both players and management likely to be involved in the early stages of the Investec Ashes have chance to meet him and fully understand his approach prior to meeting up for the start of the Test series," Strauss said.
"With that in mind, we have arranged a preparation camp in Spain. This will involve a combination of physical and fielding sessions and planning meetings in an informal environment in order to provide the best possible lead-up to the first Test in Cardiff.
"The squad for the first Test will be announced within a few of days of returning from the camp."
Apart from Footitt, the other notable inclusion is that of Steven Finn, who has not played a Test match since the first Ashes Test of the previous home series in July 2013. The 26-year-old has had several issues with his form over the last couple of years but has shown signs of getting back to his best during the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand.
England’s 14-member squad: Alastair Cook, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Mark Footitt, Adam Lyth, Liam Plunkett, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood