West Indies v England: Eoin Morgan to lead much-changed tourists squad in T20 series

2 years ago 25

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England head coach Chris Silverwood (left) talks to bowler David Payne (right)

England captain Eoin Morgan will lead a much-changed 16-man squad during January's five-match Twenty20 tour of the West Indies.

No players involved in the ongoing Ashes will be involved in the tour, which starts on 22 January - four days after the final Test in Australia.

Left-armers George Garton and David Payne are the two uncapped players.

Paul Collingwood will stand in as head coach, with Chris Silverwood taking a break after the Ashes.

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Squad: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex - captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Sam Billings (Kent), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), George Garton (Sussex), Chris Jordan (Surrey), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Tymal Mills (Sussex), David Payne (Gloucestershire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Reece Topley (Surrey), James Vince (Hampshire).

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Collingwood, who captained England to T20 World Cup success in the West Indies in 2010, will be assisted by former opener Marcus Trescothick.

The squad includes 11 players who were involved in the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in October and November, where England lost in the semi-finals to New Zealand.

Opening batter Jason Roy (calf) and left-arm bowler Tymal Mills (thigh) are both involved after recovering from injuries sustained in that tournament.

Garton, 24, was in England's squad against Sri Lanka in June, but did not feature and was then ruled out of the following Pakistan series because England's Covid bubble was compromised.

The Sussex bowler featured for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League in October and is currently playing for Adelaide Strikers in the Australian Big Bash League.

He has taken 54 wickets in 47 T20s, while Gloucestershire bowler Payne, 30, has claimed 133 in 109 T20 games.

Phil Salt could make his T20 international debut, after appearing in one-day cricket for the first time against Pakistan in July.

Paul Collingwood said: "We have selected a strong squad with some serious batting power and a balanced attack as we begin preparations ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia.

"The World Cup is less than a year away and there will be increased opportunities for the squad in the absence of those players who are with the Ashes squad.

"I have good memories of winning a World Cup in Barbados and I'm really looking forward to going back there with this squad to face a very good West Indies who will test all aspects of our skills."

Reigning champions West Indies were knocked out in the group stage of the World Cup, with just one win from five games.

The five-match series, which starts England's build-up to the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia from 16 October, is followed by a three-match Test series in March.