England’s ambitious plan to stage international cricket in biosecure conditions this summer moved a step closer on Friday when the selectors named 55 players who are now back in training and under consideration.
This enlarged group, one that covers all formats and includes 14 uncapped rookies, was intended to be announced alongside confirmed fixtures and venues for July’s initial three-Test series against West Indies, whose board approved the tour on Friday evening.
Sign-off from the UK government is still outstanding, however, and caused this delay in official confirmation of dates. But Steve Elworthy, the ECB’s director of events, said he was “absolutely” confident that Jason Holder’s tourists will land on 9 June after their charter flight to begin two weeks of quarantine.
This isolation period will take place at Old Trafford, one of two grounds expected to be used along with the Ageas Bowl because of their on-site hotels, while players on both teams will be subject to regular Covid-19 testing, thermal screening and kept within strict zones to prevent possible spread.
There are, however, a number of medical protocols still to be devised, chiefly the response to a player contracting Covid-19 mid-match – the International Cricket Council must rule on whether substitutions are allowed – and a way for individuals to leave and re-enter the so-called “bubble”.
“This is what they’re calling the bridge to the outside,” said Elworthy, who has been leading the behind-closed-doors project with the ECB medical chief Nick Peirce. “Clearly, the more people you have in and out of the bubble, the weaker it is. But at the same time, there are going to be circumstances when people will need to leave. I absolutely get that.”
This issue is pertinent for Joe Root as the Test captain and his wife, Carrie, are expecting their second child in mid-summer. But given a packed schedule – in which Pakistan follow West Indies for three Tests and three Twenty20s, Ireland are also down for three ODIs in late July and Australia are possible tourists in September – he is unlikely to be the only one needing to do so.
To this end, England have asked 37 players to begin individual training sessions at their county grounds from Monday, on top of the 18 bowlers and all-rounders who began their work 10 days ago, and it is already clear this will be a summer of much rotation.
The expectation is for this pool to be whittled down to two squads, plus two more to act as warm-up opposition. As such, it represents a golden chance for the next generation to impress, with promising youngsters such as Dan Lawrence, Will Jacks and Henry Brookes among the county players to come off furlough.
As signposted by Eoin Morgan during the week, Alex Hales remains frozen out after last year’s 21-day recreational drugs ban. The ECB has since tweaked its regulations to make the same offence a mere fine but England’s one-day captain, all-powerful after last summer’s World Cup win, remains unmoved.
The sense now is that Hales will do well to win another cap under Morgan, even though his form as a T20 globetrotter remains impressive, with the likes of Phil Salt, Tom Banton and Laurie Evans chosen ahead of him.
Liam Plunkett appears to be in the same boat – albeit due to a cricketing judgment that, at 35, his best years are behind him – while Jamie Porter, 27, must wonder if the selectors (who include his former Essex coach Chris Silverwood) noticed he is the County Championship’s leading wicket-taker since 2016 with 236 victims.
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Dom Bess (Somerset), Sam Billings (Kent), James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Henry Brookes (Warwickshire), Pat Brown (Worcestershire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Mason Crane (Hampshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey), Tom Curran (Surrey), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Joe Denly (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Laurie Evans (Sussex), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Richard Gleeson (Lancashire), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Tom Helm (Middlesex), Will Jacks (Surrey), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Yorkshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Craig Overton (Somerset), Jamie Overton (Somerset), Matt Parkinson (Lancashire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Sussex), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Reece Topley (Surrey), James Vince (Hampshire), Amar Virdi (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).
Instead Ed Smith’s panel have opted to take a look elsewhere. Reece Topley, the Surrey left-armer, is back after a four-year injury absence, while there are spots for Craig and Jamie Overton, Richard Gleeson and Tom Helm. David Willey, dropped for Jofra Archer on the eve of the World Cup, also returns.
England did not state which format the 55 players are being considered for. However, a relatively settled Test line-up means that the majority of the new batsmen in the training group are there for their white-ball talents.
It remains to be seen which team England’s selectors have in mind for Moeen Ali, however, after the all-rounder announced that his winter-long break from Test consideration in response to a degree of burnout was over.
Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl are Moeen’s two best Test grounds by way of bowling average – 15 and 18 respectively – but Dom Bess is the incumbent spinner and impressed in South Africa, while Jack Leach and Amar Virdi have also been called upon and are both red-ball specialists.
