A 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup has been announced by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Alex Hales, Joe Root and Chris Woakes are the only players remaining from England’s doomed 2015 Cricket World Cup campaign.
The squad is heavy on experience and continuity, as most of these players have been a part of the ODI setup since 2015. It has most bases covered, with England looking to resolve the identity of a second reserve batsman and also waiting on whether Jofra Archer can be accommodated in their plans.
Archer has been named in the squads for the Ireland and Pakistan one-day internationals and he could potentially, based on his performances, still make it to the final squad in time for the first World Cup match on May 30.
The pace options for the Eoin Morgan-led preliminary squad thus remain Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Tom Curran and Ben Stokes.
England’s selectors, however, clarified that the squad announced on Wednesday, was a “preliminary” one and that they would finalize their final 15-man World Cup squad after the five-match ODI series against Pakistan, which culminates on May.
“In line with ICC regulations, we have to name a preliminary squad of 15 for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup before April 23. However, all 17 players named in the Royal London ODIs against Pakistan can stake a claim to be in the final 15-man squad, finalized at the end of that series,” said Ed Smith, the national selector.
England’s squad for the 2019 World Cup:
BREAKING: @englandcricket announce their #CWC19 squad! pic.twitter.com/kInGrqpgUx
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) April 17, 2019
Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
