Table of Contents
England’s decision to omit Harry Brook from their provisional World Cup squad, in favour of selecting Ben Stokes, a cricketing icon, has been widely noted. Stokes, England’s captain in Test cricket, had previously retired from One Day International (ODI) cricket to extend his career in other formats of the game. However, he recently made a surprising return to England’s ODI lineup as the team prepares to defend their ODI World Cup 2023 title in India.
Brook, hailing from Yorkshire, was the unexpected exclusion from the provisional squad of the reigning champions for the prestigious tournament scheduled in the October-November period. This decision raised eyebrows given Brook’s recent form, which included a remarkable unbeaten century, scoring 105 runs off just 42 balls for the Northern Superchargers against Welsh Fire in the ongoing Men’s Hundred 2023. It’s worth noting that this impressive performance came in a match that his team ultimately lost.
Furthermore, Brook has earned a place in England’s 15-member squad for the upcoming four-game T20I series against New Zealand, which is set to commence on August 30. This underscores England’s confidence in his abilities and provides him with an opportunity to showcase his skills on the international stage.
Also READ: Harry Brook reacts after omission from England’s provisional ODI World Cup 2023 squad
Harry Brook receives hopeful message from Jos Buttler
In response to Brook’s omission, England’s limited-overs captain, Jos Buttler, has offered words of encouragement. Buttler has urged the 24-year-old not to lose hope of securing a place in the national team for the mult-national event, despite not being included in the provisional squad. Buttler praised Brook as a brilliant player and expressed his disappointment that circumstances didn’t allow for Brook’s inclusion in the World Cup squad. Nevertheless, Buttler emphasized that there is still time for squad adjustments.
“There’s still a long time before everyone is meant to get on the plane, so we’ll wait and see what happens. We all know Harry’s a fantastic player and we saw what he could do the other night. It’s not like it’s a surprise: we know what a brilliant player he is, he’s just the unfortunate one at the moment to not be in that squad at the moment,” Buttler was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Notably, England retains the flexibility to make changes to their provisional World Cup squad until September 28, just eight days before the much-anticipated tournament commences in Ahmedabad, India.
