Jason Roy’s World Cup dreams have been dashed after England ruthlessly dropped the opener from their final squad in favour of Harry Brook.
Roy was included in a provisional list of 15 last month, with Brook a surprising omission, but the selectors have back-tracked by making a last-minute switch for the tournament in India.
Heartbreak for Roy, whose pick up and throw led to the run out which sealed the trophy at Lord’s four years ago, spells elation for Brook, who had been coming to terms with being the odd man out.
It is thought that white-ball coach Matthew Mott made the call to deliver the bad news to Roy, having finalised the squad with captain Jos Buttler, selector Luke Wright and managing director of men’s cricket Rob Key.
Wright said in a statement: “The strength of the group has meant that we have had to make some tough decisions on world-class players, with Jason Roy missing out and Harry Brook coming into the squad.
“We have selected a squad we are confident can go to India and win the World Cup. We are blessed with an incredibly strong group of white-ball players which was underlined by the performances in the series win against a very good New Zealand team.”
Roy has played more ODIs than any other England player since they were crowned world champions in 2019, appearing 32 times, but backs spasms ruled him out of the recent four-match series against New Zealand to raise major doubts over his place.
It is understood concerns over his fitness formed part of the decision, but his waning form was also a consideration as the selectors looked to find a spot for Brook.
His output has diminished from a career average of 42.79 at the end of the 2019 final to just 31.78 subsequently. Even so, he may feel he has been harshly treated. In six one-day innings this year he has two centuries – in South Africa and Bangladesh – and his top-order partnership with Jonny Bairstow was, until very recently, seen as a trump card. Now Dawid Malan has made that role his own.
The situation is reminiscent of the decision made four years earlier, when David Willey was ousted from the preliminary squad in favour of the newly-available Jofra Archer. Willey was devastated to be cut but worked hard to reclaim favour and will be part of the team in India.
It seems unlikely that Roy will follow suit. He had already lost his T20 place on the eve of the short-form World Cup last year, a blow that was softened with the prospect of featuring in the 50-over defence, and recently suggested that he would consider his international future after the competition.
It appears unlikely that he would settle for a place on the plane as a travelling reserve, the role that had been earmarked for Brook prior to his promotion.
England will now travel with eight of the squad that triumphed on home soil last time around, joined by the fresh blood of Brook.
Brook has played just six ODIs to Roy’s 116 but is viewed as a future all-format star.
He was unable to make a watertight case for inclusion as he scored 37 in three innings during Roy’s absence against the Black Caps, but his versatility and huge promise ultimately counted in his favour.
Maia Bouchier and Danielle Gibson handed their first central contracts by ECB
Maia Bouchier and Danielle Gibson have been handed their first central contracts by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
England Women have once again issued 18 full-time deals, with the retired Katherine Sciver-Brunt and the dropped Freya Davies the only omissions from last year’s list.
Bouchier is rewarded following a season that ended with her cracking a career-best 95 against Sri Lanka in the final ODI of the campaign, while Gibson made her debut in the T20 leg of this summer’s Ashes contest.
Issy Wong remains in the group despite a difficult year that saw high expectations meet mixed form on the field.
In addition, supplementary development contracts have been handed to rising stars Mahika Gaur, Lauren Filer and Bess Heath, all of whom broke into the international setup over the summer.
While the men’s side moved recently to a system of multi-year contracts, with several leading players tied into two and three-year arrangements, the women’s squad remains on 12-month agreements.
Yet the ECB has announced that the terms include “significant structural improvements” as well as increased bonuses for victories over the strongest opposition and the previously-announced upgrade to match fees, which are now equal with the men’s team.
England director of women’s cricket, Jonathan Finch said: “Maia Bouchier and Danielle Gibson have been part of our group over the summer, have performed well and will be important players for England moving forward.
“The introduction of development contracts is a key step for us and allows us to support a wider group of players in their ongoing development and we will work closely with the regions to manage the players’ development and workloads.
“After a record-breaking Ashes summer, we have a really exciting 12 months of cricket ahead and we feel this group of players will form the foundations of our side that will take us through various bilateral series and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.”
England conclude their 2023 calendar on tour in India, with three T20s at Mumbai’s storied Wankhede Stadium this week followed by a one-off Test at the DY Patil Stadium.
For many, including Sarah Glenn, it is a first chance to experience cricket in India, where England last toured in 2019.
As a leg-spinner, Glenn is particularly keen to explore her game in a nation that has produced some of the finest slow bowlers ever.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s series opener, Glenn said: “I’m really excited. I’ve never played in India before or in front of Indian crowds, so it’s something new for me.
“It’s something I’ve always looked forward to and wanted to be part of.
“This tour is more than just games, it’s a chance to develop my game here, learn off others with how they go about it and see where I can take my spin bowling.
“I’m always looking to improve, so I’ll have a play around with it and see what is the best way to take wickets.”
Will Jacks looks at positives after England central contract snub
Will Jacks might be one of the figures charged with leading England’s ODI revival but he discovered he had missed out on a central contract through social media.
A total of 29 individuals received an annual, multi-year or developmental England deal in October but despite playing in every international format in the last 12 months, Jacks was curiously absent from the bunch.
Even more striking is Jacks’ admission that he was not forewarned by director of men’s cricket Rob Key ahead of an announcement, the timing of which midway through a faltering World Cup was criticised.
Jacks has since had some feedback about the snub but the big-hitting all-rounder takes the positives from not being tied down and is likely to explore the lucrative T20 franchise market in the next few months.
Representing England remains his top priority, though, and he has been tasked with opening the batting alongside Phil Salt, who also did not get a central contract, as Jos Buttler’s ODI side look to draw a line under a woeful World Cup in the series opener against the West Indies on Sunday.
“It’s a bit of a difficult one, I didn’t really find out at all,” he said. “I knew everyone was hearing and I was waiting, hoping I would find out and then I didn’t. I ended up seeing it on Twitter like everyone else did and that was obviously disappointing.
“Maybe it came one or two tours early and maybe if I’d played a little bit more, maybe I would have had one. They said it is always about why other people have one above me which is understandable, nothing really negative about me.
“It’s just what it is and I just want to move on. You never know, it could work in my favour. It means I’m free to plan my winter and my life but I will be using this tour and hopefully the rest of the year to prove my case to hopefully get one for next year.”
Jacks has made a dozen appearances in his embryonic international career but his fearless approach with the bat and ever-improving off-spin make him an appealing option for England’s next Test assignment in India in the new year.
But Jacks has committed himself to the SA20 – South Africa’s domestic T20 competition – which clashes with the five-match series on the subcontinent.
“Obviously England is the pinnacle and I want to play as much as I can but what (not getting a contract) has done is it’s almost managed my expectations,” Jacks said.
“The India Test matches have obviously been in the back of everyone’s mind for the recent period – such a massive series and there’s all the talk about spin and the need for all-rounders and having a deep squad.
“Instead of me thinking that I was going to be picked, I’m now thinking ‘if they wanted to pick me then realistically, I would have been given a contract’. The fact that they haven’t given me one probably says something.”
Jacks is set to be in India at some point early in 2024, having been one of nine Englishmen retained by their Indian Premier League franchises, despite a thigh injury ruling him out of contention for Royal Challengers Bangalore last year.
Having missed out on England’s miserable defence of their 50-over World Cup, Jacks is desperate to be involved in the T20 equivalent in the Caribbean in June.
The 25-year-old is therefore eager to take his chance on a reconnaissance job in these three ODIs followed by three T20s.
“I just want to play some cricket,” he added. “I love playing for England but if I’m not selected then I’m very happy playing T20 cricket.
“There’s a World Cup coming up in June here so it will be good to get used to these conditions and that’s a priority for me.”
Jos Buttler motivated by poor World Cup to drive England forward
Jos Buttler intends to use England’s World Cup misery to fuel him for the rest of his career but he insisted the humbling campaign “doesn’t define me as a person or my whole career”.
England’s defence of the title they won to much acclaim in 2019 was a debacle, with Buttler not making a single fifty and averaging 15.33 in nine group-stage matches as his form completely deserted him.
Three weeks on from their final game of a grizzly trip to India, Buttler is on the road again and looking to wipe the slate clean as he leads a new-look England side on a white-ball tour of the West Indies, starting with the first of three ODIs on Sunday in Antigua.
Having taken a few painful lessons from the past few weeks, Buttler is adamant he is as committed as ever to get England back to being the standard-bearers in the limited-overs formats going forwards.
“I’ve got to use it as motivation and hunger to push myself and the team forward,” the England white-ball captain said. “Use it as a positive experience to go into the rest of my career.
“I still feel incredibly motivated and excited and it’s nice to be around some of the younger guys who are desperate to do well and, as a more senior player, it gives you a lot of energy.
“We have had one bad tournament. We have been in a great place for a long time and you see the depth of talent of guys coming through and you want to help shape that period of white-ball cricket.
“Any time that you get challenged and get pushed back, it certainly lights a few fires and motivates you. I should be in an even better place moving forward than I have been.”
Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott inevitably drew plenty of criticism for finishing seventh out of 10 teams in the subcontinent but the pair have been backed fully by director of men’s cricket Rob Key.
Having had time to digest what happened, Buttler retains a pragmatic outlook and reminds himself of team-mate Ben Stokes’ now memorable line to Jofra Archer before the pivotal super over in the 2019 World Cup final.
“Having good people around you, people who are close to you, that keeps some perspective on life and on cricket,” the double World Cup winner said. “It’s meant to be hard at times, right?
“We’re playing international cricket events against the best players in the world and they’ve all got the same ambitions as we have so there’s going to be times when it’s not easy.
“It’s this easy to be captain hindsight. Say you got XYZ wrong, when if you don’t play well enough to try and implement your plan, the decisions can maybe become a little bit irrelevant.
“I always think of Ben Stokes’ words to Jofra about the super over: whatever happens here doesn’t define you and I certainly don’t feel like that World Cup is the defining moment for me.
“It’s a huge disappointment but it doesn’t define me as a person or my whole career. So, just use it as something to make sure I look forward now and enjoy the challenges ahead.
“Life moves on, the world moves on pretty fast. There’s always something to look forward to. It’s never as bad as you think it is and it’s never as good as you think it is.”
Buttler did not reveal his XI for what is being dubbed by some as a reset as they build towards the 2025 Champions Trophy and 2027 World Cup but Will Jacks and Phil Salt are set to open the batting.
Neither player received a central contract a few weeks ago but they have an opportunity to push their case for more regular involvement alongside the likes of Rehan Ahmed, John Turner and Matthew Potts.
Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse have followed Buttler to the Caribbean from the World Cup, while a 15-strong squad is bolstered by Test regulars Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope.
“It’s certainly a bit of a new beginning,” Buttler added. “There’s some really exciting talent in this team. There’s a nice blend, I think.”
“There’s some great energy around the guys and the Caribbean is a nice place to start this journey.”
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