Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire, captain), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Jade Dernbach (Surrey), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Craig Kieswetter (Somerset), Michael Lumb (Hampshire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Kevin Pietersen (Surrey), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Luke Wright (Sussex)
One Day International Squad:
Alastair Cook (Essex, captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jade Dernbach (Surrey), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Craig Kieswetter (Somerset), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Kevin Pietersen (Surrey), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Matches: T20I: England v Sri Lanka (Bristol, 25 June). 1st ODI: England v Sri Lanka (The Oval, 28 June), 2nd ODI: England v Sri Lanka (Headingley, 1 July), 3rd ODI: England v Sri Lanka (Lord's, 3 July), 4th ODI: England v Sri Lanka (Trent Bridge, 6 July), 5th ODI: England v Sri Lanka (Old Trafford, 9 July).
England's squads for the T20 and ODI games with Sri Lanka were announced today and there were plenty of interesting selections and non-selections made. Starting with the T20 squad, although it will be hard to gauge from one match the new direction the team is going in (isn't it the time to consider T20 international double headers with two fixtures on the same day, as one match per series is surely too few and the international calendar is already full to bursting point?) it will be fascinating to see how Stuart Broad fares in the field and also with the ball in hand on the back of a disappointing test series against Sri Lanka.
Opener Michael Lumb returns having shown little form for Hampshire in any form of the game since 2010's victorious T20 World Cup campaign and Samit Patel returns to both the T20 and ODI squad, though more on him later. England's streak of eight victories in a row was recently ended by Australia so the team will be keen to get back on track with next year's T20 World Cup in mind.
The ODI squad is of more interest, as England plays its first matches since another very disappointing World Cup campaign. A return to home conditions will doubtless aid the team in their rebuilding efforts, but nobody can be sure how Alastair Cook will fare both as captain and with the bat, being unproven in the former capacity and unconvincing in the latter in this form of the game.There is a lingering feeling that Cook is being groomed to take over from Andrew Strauss as Test captain and that the ODI format is being used as a breeding ground or school for Cook. This seems to underscore England's prioritising of the Test format and could well backfire. It would be nice for England to view all formats as being on an equal footing and it seems no coincidence to me that England's dilettante approach to the ODI game in the last two decades has dovetailed with some appalling World Cup results. The fact that the domestic game sees no 50 over cricket played is evidence of this and is incredibly short sighted.
Samit Patel's return to the squad is pleasing as the player has finally heeded the England management's directives on fitness and has now reached the minimum requirement on that front. This speaks volumes for the regard he is held in as a player and it is to be hoped now that Patel will maintain these most basic levels required for a modern cricketer and use this as a springboard for full honours at all three levels. He is a talented middle order right hand bat, and extremely canny left arm spin bowler in limited overs cricket. It was a shame that such lesser players as Michael Yardy were, up until this point, taking what should have been his place in the squad, but now Patel has the chance to make headlines for the right reasons.
The wicketkeeping issue is again something of a headache, with the selectors showing continued uncertainty in this regard. For the most recent T20 and ODI series in Australia, Steven Davies played as wicketkeeper-opening batsman before Matt Prior was drafted in halfway through that ODI series and for the subsequent World Cup in the Indian sub-continent. Davies did not disgrace himself but the feeling was that Prior, after a splendid Ashes series with the bat, was in terrific form and could force the pace in the slow Indian conditions of the World Cup. Ultimately, he couldn't, and after this final failing in the shorter forms of the game, he seems to have been dispensed with altogether. However, Craig Kieswetter, and not Steven Davies, has now replaced Prior in the ODI squad, which seems rather harsh on Davies and lacks the continuity which this modern England management seems to pride themselves on. It is, however, this critic's opinion that Kieswetter is the better prospect than Davies. So in one sense this hard headed pragmatism is to be admired, but a line really needs to be drawn in the sand and Kieswetter now needs to be given a good, long run in the side.
Chris Tremlett's omission is a little surprising, even taking into account his lack of past success in the ODI game, most recently in Australia and at the World Cup. He has been in wonderful form against Sri Lanka in the test series, and seems to have the ability to intimidate many of their batsmen who will feature in this ODI series. He appeared to pull up a little in the final day of yesterday's test match so it is possible he is being rested, but at the moment there is no clarification on that point. Certainly in these current overcast, English conditions he would seem to be a good option to have in the squad. However, with the 2015 World Cup in mind, for which the planning and preparation begins now, the selectors have gone for some young seam bowlers, in the shape of Dernbach, Woakes and Finn to compliment the established Stuart Broad and James Anderson (who may well be in the last chance saloon as far as this form of the game goes after a disappointing World Cup).
Elsewhere, the squad holds few surprises, although it is surely a make or break series for Ravi Bopara, who has now played 59 ODIs batting in the top or middle order, and has only a high score of 60 to show for this. At 26, he is now no longer a young prospect and it is now time for him to finally prove his worth or be discarded. With the dropping of Paul Collingwood from the side, one of England's stalwarts of recent years, it may be thought that Bopara can fill his spot as a fifth or sixth bowler as he has shown for Essex this season that his bowling is coming on nicely. There is a certain logic to this selection, but Bopara's first suit is really his batting and he must improve his returns here.
The series pits 3rd in the world rankings (Sri Lanka) against 5th (England), and Sri Lanka will be happy to revert to the limited overs game after a somewhat difficult test series. They will be bolstered by the presence of Lasith Malinga, probably the world’s finest ODI seam bowler with his laser beamed yorkers the finest weapon in this form of the game. Having reached the final of the World Cup, albeit in vastly different conditions, they surely start this series as favourites, and with a batting line up featuring Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakarra and Mahela Jayawardene, they have the edge in star names. It will also be nice to see the return of promising all rounder, Angelo Mathews, who can clear the rope with ease with the bat and is an ever improving bowling option. It should be a close series, with Sri Lanka taking it by the odd game in five. After a weather-hit Test series, it is to be hoped that the gods will smile on the ODI series and that the talents on show are allowed to shine to their fullest.
Nick Rogerson
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