England pick five uncapped players for Australia T20Is; Jofra Archer returns to ODI squad, no place for Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali
The England Cricket Board (ECB) has included five uncapped players in the T20I squad to face Australia in the upcoming three T20Is at home. Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Josh Hull, Dan Mousley, and John Turner are the uncapped cricketers in the T20I squad that will be captained by the returning Jos Buttler, who is currently out of action due to a calf injury.
Cox and Hull are currently with the England Test squad for the series against Sri Lanka. Cox has a promising strike rate of 138.85 in 123 T20s, while Hull, the left-arm seamer, has picked up 24 scalps in 21 T20s at 27.04 apiece. Cox also had a promising season of The Hundred, racking up 214 runs in seven games and striking at 143.62.
John Turner, a right-arm seamer, has previously been with the national squad, but hasn't been able to break into the playing XI. Although Turner has a promising T20 record, he struggled in The Hundred this year.
Bethell, a batting all-rounder, has been one of the most promising talents in the domestic circuit. The southpaw has a promising strike rate of 138.18 in 44 T20s and smacked 166 runs in seven innings in The Hundred this year.
Dan Mousley is yet another batting all-rounder in the squad with a strike rate of 130.54 in 62 T20s and a bowling average of 19.89.
Hull, Bethell, and Turner have also been named in the ODI squad. Players from the current Test squad, namely Gus Atkinson, Harry Brook, Matthew Potts, and Jamie Smith, could also feature in the 50-over series, with the 2025 Champions Trophy looming. Ben Duckett will also have an opportunity at the top of the order in ODIs.
Jofra Archer, who made his England return in the T20 World Cup, is in line to play his first 50-over international since March 2023. However, the selectors have overlooked Joe Root for the five ODIs.
England T20I squad: Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.
England ODI squad: Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Reece Topley, John Turner.
Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow overlooked from both England squads:
The selectors have not included Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow in either squad for the series against Australia due to their diminishing returns over a significant period of time. Bairstow struggled in both the T20 World Cup and The Hundred, averaging 27.50 and 20.50, respectively. Moeen Ali, 37, didn't make a positive impression in either tournament.
Bairstow had also been dropped from the Test squad for this summer, having managed a highest score of 39 across the five-Test tour of India earlier this year. England and Australia will kick off the T20I series on September 11 in Southampton and will play the final two matches on the 13th in Cardiff and 15th in Manchester.
The five-game ODI series begins on September 19 in Nottingham and will end on September 29 in Bristol.