Hosts England have left out all-rounder Jofra Archer from their 15-member squad for the ICC World Cup 2019, which is scheduled to be played in England and Wales, starting May 30. The ‘Three Lions’ have gone ahead with the same set of players who featured in ODIs against West Indies earlier this year.
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.
Willey, although he was a part of the squad, did not feature in the ODIs against West Indies. However, the selectors have retained their faith in him and Joe Denly, who is a capable batsman and can serve as a back-up leg-spinner to Adil Rashid.
England’s batting has been their strength and there were few surprises as the selectors stuck to a tried and tested line-up. Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler make for a settled line-up, with Alex Hales also coming in an explosive top-order batsman.
Rashid and Moeen Ali will be the main spinners, with Denly and Root’s part-time spin supporting them.
England, the No.1 side on the ICC ODI Team Rankings, are among the favourites to lift the trophy at home. They begin their campaign against South Africa.
Squad: 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
