England have picked Jofra Archer in their final squad for the 2019 World Cup, named on Tuesday (May 21). Archer, who was on stand-by and under trial in the just-concluded ODI series against Pakistan, comes in at the expense of left-arm fast bowler David Willey, who picked up four wickets in three fixtures in the same series.
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Archer too played three ODIs – one against Ireland, two vs Pakistan – and showed enough – with his ability to clock 140 kmph regularly and his penchant for yorker accuracy – to convince the ECB to bring him in.
Squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, James Vince, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood
Interestingly, England also decided to pick Liam Dawson – who last played an ODI in October 2018 – from outside of the 15-man preliminary squad that was announced earlier. Dawson, who bowls left-arm spin and can bat as well, walks in for Joe Denly, who couldn’t quite impress the selectors with the limited opportunities he got – he bowled just six overs across the two games he played in and scored 17 in the 21 balls he faced.
Dawson, meanwhile, picked 18 wickets and scored 274 runs in 9 games in the One-Day Cup as holders Hampshire topped the South Group, beat Lancashire in the semi-final to book a final date with Somerset – to be played on May 25.
On the batting front, the one forced change is of a replacement for Alex Hales, who was suspended from all squads following a failed drug test. Hales, who was initially part of the 15, was then replaced by James Vince in the Pakistan series.
Dawson’s Hampshire team mate has been in exceptional form for his domestic side, raking up 509 runs in the seven fixtures he played in the 50-over tournament, including a 154-ball 190 that included 15 fours and 5 sixes. He managed an aggregate of 76 runs in the two ODIs against Pakistan, and will come in as a handy middle-order cover for the hosts.
England go into the home World Cup as one of the favourites, and kick-off the tournament with their game against South Africa at the Kennington Oval in London on May 30.
. Archer, who was on stand-by and under trial in the just-concluded ODI series against Pakistan, comes in at the expense of left-arm fast bowler David Willey, who picked up four wickets in three fixtures in the same series.){kind=link}