Harry Brook could yet force his way into the final England squad for the defence of their World Cup crown as white-ball captain Jos Buttler suggested the Yorkshireman remains on his radar.
Brook was omitted from the preliminary party to travel to India in the autumn, nudged out of contention by Test skipper Ben Stokes being selected as a specialist batter after reversing his ODI retirement.
England have until September 28 to finalise their 15-strong group and Brook delivered a jaw-dropping reminder of his capabilities with a 41-ball ton for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred this week.
While Buttler is standing by last week’s decision, he suggested he has not entirely discounted Brook, who has become an automatic pick in the full-strength Test and T20 sides, from his thoughts.
Speaking ahead of Manchester Originals’ men’s eliminator against Southern Brave, Buttler said: “There’s still a long time before everyone’s meant to get on the plane so we’ll wait and see what happens.
“We all know Harry’s a fantastic player and we saw what he can do the other night, it’s not like it’s a surprise, we know what a brilliant player he is.
“He’s just the unfortunate one at the moment to not be in that squad. Ben Stokes coming back and being available just as a batter changes the dynamic a little bit.
“Ben’s a fantastic player to be able to welcome back. It’s a really tough selection, there have been players performing really well over a period of time and that’s where we are at the minute.”
After the conclusion of the group stages of The Hundred, Brook, whose Superchargers side were unable to reach the knockout rounds, sits second in the run-scoring charts, behind only Buttler.
The Originals captain’s 298 runs at an average of 42.57 and strike-rate of 143.26 has underpinned their success, where they will be hoping to go one better after losing last year’s final.
Buttler missed last year’s competition because of a calf problem and Originals head coach Simon Katich is in no doubt that having such a star performer in their ranks this time has been so crucial.
Katich told the PA news agency: “In a way, it’s like having another overseas player in the ranks given you’ve got the England captain, highly-experienced and a world-class player to boot.
“England in recent times have had wonderful players and a lot of white-ball success but you’d be struggling to name a player that’s outplayed him in that period of time.
“He’s achieved it all – won the T20 World Cup last year as the skipper, won the ODI World Cup in 2019 as a player and vice-captain to Eoin Morgan. His CV speaks for itself.”
The Originals were beaten on Wednesday by their opponents on Saturday at the Kia Oval – where the winners will take on Oval Invincibles a day later at Lord’s.
While a formidable pace trio of Craig Overton, Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills have made light of Jofra Archer’s absence due to injury, teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed continues to thrive on the big stage.
Despite bowling what Brave captain Vince described as “probably his 10 worst balls in his first couple of sets” against the Originals, Ahmed, who turned 19 this month, snared the crucial wicket of Buttler.
The contributions of Ahmed, who made his England debut in all three formats last winter, helped the Brave secure a six-wicket win at Emirates Old Trafford and ultimately a place in the eliminator.
Vince said “(Ahmed is) a confident guy, backs his ability and I think that really shone through in the last game. He still felt like he could have an impact on the game.
“To be honest, you kind of forget his age. That’s down to the way he is around the group, the way he is on the field. He’s certainly above his years.
“If you didn’t know his age, you would easily say from the way he carries himself and the way he performs that he’s in his mid-20s. I think he’s going to grow and grow.”
Bairstow and Moeen left out of England's white-ball squad
Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali have both been left out of England's white-ball series squad, with five uncapped players named.
As Jos Buttler looks to the future, Warwickshire batting all-rounders, Jacob Bethell and Dan Mousley, have been given their first international call-ups for the three-match T20 series against Australia next month.
Essex batter Jordan Cox, Hampshire seamer John Turner and Leicestershire left-arm bowler Josh Hull, who was named as Mark Wood's replacement in the Test squad to play Sri Lanka, have also been picked.
The latter three will also be involved for the five one-day internationals that follow.
World Cup winners Bairstow and Moeen, who have been regular fixtures in England's white-ball squad for over a decade, could have made their final international appearances after being left out of the squad, with Chris Jordan also being overlooked.
Brydon Carse, however, has been recalled for both squads after serving a betting ban, while Saqib Mahmood returns for the T20 series after recovering from injury. Buttler will also be fit to feature after overcoming a calf injury.
Marcus Trescothick will lead England for the first time against Australia after being named Matthew Mott's interim replacement.
Mott left in July following England's semi-final exit to eventual champions India in the T20 World Cup, having also failed to help England defend their 50-over world title in 2023.
The first match of the T20 series will take place on September 11 at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
England T20 squad to play Australia:
Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.
England ODI squad: Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Reece Topley, John Turner.
Rain restricts play to 15 overs on day one between West Indies and South Africa
Aiden Markram lost his wicket as South Africa reached 45-1 before rain stopped play on day one of the first Test against West Indies.
Markram was dismissed on nine by Jason Holder (1-2) in the 14th over.
Kemar Roach (0-6) had Markram on the back foot throughout, though it was Holder who made the breakthrough with a wicked delivery that sent the South African's off-stump tumbling.
Tony de Zorzi reached 32 not-out and Tristan Stubbs was on two not-out when, during the tea break, play was abandoned for the day.
It means 75 overs of play were lost on day one in Trinidad, where play will start early on day two.
Vandersay rips through India as Sri Lanka snatch series lead
Jeffrey Vandersay tore through India's batting lineup with six wickets as Sri Lanka snatched the ODI series lead with a 32-run victory in Colombo.
Leg-spinner Vandersay managed 6-33 – his best international figures – as Rohit Sharma's tourists collapsed in remarkable fashion on Sunday, falling 1-0 down with one ODI remaining in the three-match series.
India held their hosts to a modest 240-9 in the first innings as Washington Sundar (3-30) led the way, while Avishka Fernando and Kamindu Mendis anchored at either end of the batting order with 40 apiece.
Rohit responded by crashing 64 off just 44 deliveries as India raced to 97 without loss, only for the captain to fall when attempting to reverse sweep a climbing Vandersay delivery in the 14th over.
The 34-year-old spinner would soon remove Shubman Gill, on 35, and Shivam Dube without scoring in the same over, before trapping Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in front to complete his first ODI five-wicket haul.
KL Rahul followed to leave India struggling at 147-6, though Axar Patel offered resistance before falling on 44 to Charith Asalanka, who then removed Sundar and Mohammed Siraj.
Arshdeep Singh was then run out as a battling Sri Lanka seized control heading into the final clash on Wednesday.
Data Debrief: Vandersay becomes Sri Lanka's new Murali
Vandersay had only managed 27 wickets in 20 previous ODI innings for Sri Lanka, though added six with an eye-catching showing of leg-spin bowling here.
His previous 4-10 best in this format came against cricketing minnows Zimbabwe, but a remarkable six-wicket haul will live long in the memory after dismissing two India greats in Rohit and Kohli.
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