Joe Root is back in England’s one-day squad for the Champions Trophy in February as Brendon McCullum rolls the dice in his new role as the all-format coach. There are a few eyebrow-raising calls in the squad. Here, Telegraph Sport dissects them.
Root’s redemption shot
While he is ensconced at No 4 in Test cricket, Joe Root will slot back into his old one-day international role at No 3. He is among England’s greatest 50-over players, with an average of 47.6. His technical prowess could be crucial against the swinging white ball in the Champions Trophy.
Yet England will hope that Root finds form in the three ODIs against India that precede the tournament. In the five and a half years since the 2019 World Cup, Root has played just 28 ODIs and averaged only 29. His struggles in the 2023 World Cup were a reminder that even such a supreme batsman will have to get reacquainted with the 50-over game.
Partly because of Root’s return, Will Jacks misses out on the ODI squad; after a poor tour of the Caribbean, he has also been dropped from the T20 team. For all his talent, the 26-year-old is now marooned outside of the national set-up: he averages 31.2 in ODIs and just 18.2 in 23 T20Is.
All in on pace
England’s squad shows the same trust in raw pace that has been detectable in the Test side this year. Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood all feature, alongside Jofra Archer and Saqib Mahmood, who swung the new ball at dangerous pace in West Indies. Even the sixth seamer, Jamie Overton, is a 90mph man. Add it all together, and this could be the fastest group of pace bowlers that England have ever taken to a global tournament.
The slightly slower Matthew Potts – skilful with the new and old ball alike and with terrific stamina – is unfortunate to miss out. But his attributes do not fit quite so neatly with those embraced by McCullum’s regime.
Which quicks England pick in their XI is an intriguing question; the answer will vary based on form and conditions, although Archer and Carse seem the two likeliest men to feature. While Adil Rashid is the sole specialist spinner for the Champions Trophy, with Rehan Ahmed omitted, England still might well bowl 20 overs of spin, using Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell and even Root to form the fifth bowler’s allocation.
No seam all-rounders
The absence of Ben Stokes ought to have given Sam Curran a prime opportunity. In white-ball cricket, Curran is the nearest to a like-for-like Stokes replacement: a seamer who can bat in the top seven. Instead, Curran has been dropped from both the ODI and T20 squads.
On the recent tour of West Indies, Curran batted in the top six and performed well, hitting 194 runs at 38.8 across the two series. It confirmed the impression that his international future lies as a batting all-rounder. But Curran did not take a single wicket across the two series, leaving England to conclude that – for now – he is not quite good enough with either discipline.
Should England need to ensure that they can bowl at least 35 overs of pace, they will need to line up the side slightly unconventionally. Overton, a player that England’s management believe gives the side new possibilities, would have to bat at seven – perhaps one place higher than ideal – with Carse, Atkinson and Rashid providing lower-order depth.
Buttler without the gloves again?
England have not confirmed as much, but indications are that Jos Buttler will continue to play as a specialist batsman, captaining from mid-off while Phil Salt keeps wicket. Buttler was advised by McCullum to shed the gloves, and seemed to relish his lighter role in the Caribbean – captaining adventurously and using his new-ball bowlers particularly aggressively.
McCullum goes for continuity
For all the talk in recent years of cricket’s formats diverging, the squads reveal England’s belief that the different games are actually converging. The Champions Trophy squad includes nine men who, if fit, would get into England’s party to tour Australia next winter. And there is only one change – Ahmed for Root – between the T20 and ODI squads.
It illustrates a core English belief under McCullum. Cricketers with the talent and temperament to thrive in the international game should not be limited to a particular format.
England ODI squad – India Tour & ICC Champions Trophy
Jos Buttler (Lancashire) (captain)
Jofra Archer (Sussex)
Gus Atkinson (Surrey)
Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire)
Harry Brook (Yorkshire)
Brydon Carse (Durham)
Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
Jamie Overton (Surrey)
Jamie Smith (Surrey)
Liam Livingstone (Lancashire)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
Phil Salt (Lancashire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
England IT20 squad – India Tour
Jos Buttler (Lancashire) (captain)
Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire)
Jofra Archer (Sussex)
Gus Atkinson (Surrey)
Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire)
Harry Brook (Yorkshire)
Brydon Carse (Durham)
Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
Jamie Overton (Surrey)
Jamie Smith (Surrey)
Liam Livingstone (Lancashire)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
Phil Salt (Lancashire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
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