England are ready to incorporate Jofra Archer of their T20 World Cup squad, with the seamer closing in on his comeback after a yr recovering from his latest injury problems.
Archer has not played competitive cricket since last May as a consequence of a reoccurrence of a stress fracture in his troublesome right elbow, but he has been earmarked to spearhead the England attack in a title defence co-hosted by his native West Indies.
The England and Wales Cricket Board is approaching Archer’s return with caution after multiple breakdowns over the past 4 years and has already ruled him out of the Test arena until 2025 on the earliest, however it hopes the less demanding 20-over format allows him to relocate his full form and fitness.
A 15-strong group will likely be announced on Tuesday, alongside a squad to tackle Pakistan in a four-match home series at the tip of May, charged with markedly improving on last yr’s dire defence of their 50-over crown.
While there are many bad memories of India among the many survivors from that trip, there might be little doubt that events at the continued Indian Premier League have already enhanced England’s prospects.
Query marks had began to creep in over Jonny Bairstow’s place after an indifferent run of form over a gruelling winter, but after regaining his place within the Punjab Kings side he struck a thunderous 108 from 48 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders last Friday, steering his side to a world record T20 chase.
By the tip of the evening at Eden Gardens, where Bairstow thrashed nine sixes and eight fours, the very idea of England travelling to the Caribbean without the 34-year-old looked fanciful.
His preferred slot as captain Jos Buttler’s opening partner remains to be expected to go to Phil Salt, who grabbed pole position with back-to-back lots of against the West Indies in December, and the latter’s dynamic form for the Knight Riders has only seen his stock grow in recent weeks.
The identical is true of Surrey’s Will Jacks, whose offering as a spin bowling power hitter makes him ideal for Caribbean pitches.
He may benefit directly from Ben Stokes’ decision to declare himself unavailable for the World Cup by taking over a spot within the first-choice XI and picked an ideal time to peak with a 41-ball century for Royal Challengers Bangalore just 24 hours before the selectors made their final deliberations.
Buttler is one other Englishman with an IPL ton his name this season and his Rajasthan Royals side currently top the standings, raising interesting questions over whether his preparations can be higher served by staying with the franchise for the business end or returning to steer his country against Pakistan.
All-rounders Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran are also set to affix up from the IPL, as is seamer Reece Topley, while Harry Brook has been tuning up with Yorkshire after stepping away from the tournament for private reasons.
Ben Duckett is hoping to make the cut because the spare batter, together with his left-handedness and talent to slot in anywhere across the highest six each attractive qualities.
Established spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali are going to wish some back-up, with left-armer Tom Hartley vying with leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed.
Ahmed has earned T20 caps since becoming England’s youngest men’s international within the format last March, while the uncapped Hartley impressed together with his maturity within the recent Test tour of India and is an experienced white-ball operator with Lancashire.
Chris Woakes is probably the most experienced pace bowling option around and might be heading into his final global tournament, while Gus Atkinson is fancied to be at the pinnacle of a supporting queue that also includes the likes of Tymal Mills, Luke Wood, Brydon Carse and Olly Stone.
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