England have offered discarded opener Jason Roy the chance to make himself available as an injury reserve for the World Cup, but accept his selection heartbreak may be too tough to overcome.
Roy, a crucial part of the trophy-winning 2019 side, was named in a provisional group of 15 for next month’s tournament in India but found himself squeezed out by Harry Brook when the final squad was announced on Sunday.
The U-turn came after Roy suffered back spasms that ruled him out of the recent New Zealand series, setting in chain a sequence of events that saw understudy Dawid Malan ink his name in at the top of the order and positioned Brook as the most versatile additional batter.
By axing a player with 116 caps and eight years of experience as a mainstay of the side, England showed a cut-throat approach to defending their 50-over crown and raised uncertainty over Roy’s international future.
He was offered the chance to join a second-string side for three ODIs against Ireland but turned that down after receiving the crushing news from skipper Jos Buttler over the weekend. National selector Luke Wright made it clear that England still view Roy as an option for the World Cup should one of their top three be ruled out, but that is an olive branch that may not be accepted.
Roy lost his T20 place before another World Cup last year, cancelled the remainder of his central contract to play Major League Cricket in the United States this summer and may instead find himself weighing up the benefits of retiring from England altogether.
“As you can imagine, he’s absolutely gutted and I wouldn’t expect anything else. I feel for him, as I feel for anyone you leave out,” said Wright.
“But we certainly haven’t ruled him out. For Jason now, I’m sure he’s got some thinking to do over the initial disappointment, but we’ve made clear that if there’s an injury at the top of the order, there’s definitely the option for him to come in as the reserve.
“We’ve made it very clear that we still see him as the man to do that. I don’t think there’s any reason why we wouldn’t. We’ve spoken to him about that and he has time to reflect over the next few days. It is obviously not an easy pill to swallow.”
England plan to take just one travelling reserve with them on what is a gruelling schedule in India, with Jofra Archer joining the group as part of his continuing rehabilitation from a stress fracture in the right elbow. Others under consideration will be permitted to stay at home until required.
Wright was sympathetic about Roy’s reluctance to join up with a shadow team to take on the Irish so soon after being ousted, but added that the offer remained open for the second and third games.
“We’ve given Jason the option of being involved and he still has the option,” said Wright.
“He wasn’t expecting to be in that Ireland squad and then to get the news that he was missing out on the World Cup all came as a bit of a hammer blow. So we’ve left that with him. The first game at Headingley has come too soon but there is still the option of those last two games. We’ve made it apparent to Jason that we won’t judge him differently for that position as the spare batter at the top of the order whether he plays against Ireland or not. We’ll work on that one over the next few days.”
One man who will take the field for the first ODI is Joe Root, who requested to play at his home ground despite having the chance to rest up before India. He lacked rhythm against the Black Caps, making just 39 in four innings, and is keen for one last hit on familiar turf before travelling.
“As much as we thought he probably needed a break, he just wanted another go,” Wright said.
“It’s great for someone still to have that desire to keep wanting to do more and more. It shows what makes him such a world-class player, that when he doesn’t feel quite right that he still wants to tinker and do more.”
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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