After Jofra Archer‘s inclusion in Team England squad for the upcoming Cricket World Cup, the chief selector of the national team, Ed Smith claimed that it was a pretty straightforward decision.
Less than ten days ahead of the opening match of the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, England has announced their final 15-member squad for the forthcoming Cricket World Cup. From the preliminary 15-member squad, the national selectors have dropped David Willey, Joe Denly and Alex Hales. Meanwhile, Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson and James Vince have earned the World Cup call-ups as the replacement.
The 24-year-old Barbados-born Jofra Archer recently made his international cricket debut for England. On 3rd May 2019, the bowling all-rounder made his ODI debut (against Ireland at Dublin, Malahide). Later, on 5th May 2019, Archer made his T20I debut (against Pakistan at Cardiff).
Till the date, he has played three ODIs and one T20I for England where he has taken three and two wickets respectively.
Ed Smith spoke about Archer’s selection in the World Cup squad, “We’ve seen Jofra Archer play against Pakistan and we’ve seen the skills he has. It’s pretty straightforward. He’s an outstanding talent, that’s clear to all of us. He has pace, bounce, skill.”
David Willey was very unfortunate in missing out
Meanwhile, David Willey has missed out the World Cup opportunity despite he was in the preliminary 15-member Team England squad. The 29-year-old left-arm pacer Willey has played 46 ODIs where he has picked up 52 wickets. In the recently concluded home ODI series against Pakistan, Willey took four wickets in three matches.
Ed Smith praised David Willey and said that he was very unfortunate in missing out the World Cup squad. Smith even added that the left-arm pacer deserved to be in the World Cup squad.
Smith claimed, “That was a very difficult decision, I think the situation we were in as a selection panel, and in consultation with the captain, was we had more players we wanted to fit into the squad than we were allowed to, so it was a very tough call.
“David Willey has been a big part of the one-day side, he has had such a good run, it was a really tough call but someone had to miss out. David was very unfortunate in missing out but he could easily have been in this World Cup squad, he deserves to be in the World Cup squad, but that’s sport. Sometimes there are more deserving people than there are places in the squad.”
Smith further added, “He’s an outstanding man. He’s very honest, very, very dignified, very clear to the conversation we had, a very impressive man. He’s a very impressive cricketer, it is extremely unfortunate.”
Ed Smith about Liam Dawson’ inclusion and Joe Denly’s exclusion
Also, the opening batsman and the back-up spinner Joe Denly has missed out the latest World Cup squad. The left-arm spinner Liam Dawson has replaced Denly in the latest World Cup squad.
Smith spoke about that change, “The first thing to say is with that position of the spinner or reserve batter, it’s a very subtle balance issue. Do you tend towards someone who’s mainly a batter who also is a very handy bowler in Joe Denly, or do you tend towards someone who’s tilted more towards the bowling side of it but also as a handy batter?
“It could have gone either way. In actual fact, Liam Dawson was always in contention he was in the team in Sri Lanka and then a side injury forced him out of that, Joe Denly came in and has stayed in, limited opportunities even though he’s had.”
Adil Rashid has a little niggle – Ed Smith
The no.10-ranked ODI bowler Adil Rashid is a crucial bowler for the present English cricket team. Smith has clarified that the leg-spinner has a slight shoulder issue which will not affect his upcoming Cricket World Cup journey.
Ed Smith said, “Adil Rashid has a little niggle, hopefully he’ll be fine, and it won’t affect him having a full part in the competition. But that slightly tilts things towards spin bowling cover as a priority rather than one of your batting reserves.”
On the other hand, the selectors have decided to not pick up Alex Hales for the upcoming Cricket World Cup. Hales was initially in the preliminary Cricket World Cup squad. But later, the selectors dropped him from that squad after his 21-day suspension for using the recreational drug. Now, James Vince has replaced him for the upcoming Cricket World Cup. Vince recently featured in the home ODI series against Pakistan.
England and Wales will host the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup from 30th May to 14th July. England will play the opening game of the tournament on 30th May against South Africa at The Oval (London).