England drop Roy, welcome back Woakes and Wood for T20 World Cup

02.09.2022 - 13:33 timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Twenty20 World Cup in Australia beginning next month. Roy has been an integral part of England's white-ball squad and his explosive batting at the top of the order embodied the team's aggressive approach as they won their maiden 50-overs World Cup title in 2019.

The 32-year-old has struggled for runs this summer and hit 76 runs in total in his last six Twenty20 Internationals which made his position untenable for the World Cup and the preceding seven-match Twenty20 series in Pakistan.

Woakes and Wood, both of whom last played for England during the test tour of the West Indies in March, have recovered from their respective injuries to be in both squads.

The World Cup squad includes Chris Jordan (finger) and Liam Livingstone (ankle) who will skip the Pakistan tour to continue their rehabilitation, the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement.

cricket cup Dawid Malan Phil Salt Jonny Bairstow Jos Buttler Chris Woakes Liam Livingstone Harry Brook Chris Jordan Liam Dawson Reece Topley David Willey Sam Curran Will Jacks Richard Gleeson Australia Jordan Afghanistan Pakistan Karachi county Mills

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Pakistan and England continue their build-up for next month's T20 World Cup in Australia when they begin a seven-match series in Karachi on Tuesday -- the tourists' first visit since 2005. The long-awaited return of England comes five months after a trouble-free tour by Australia, their first in 24 years, which helped Pakistan's rehabilitation as a safe place to play cricket. International cricket has gradually returned to Pakistan following years where they were forced to play home matches in neutral venues after a deadly attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009. England had been originally scheduled to arrive in October last year but cancelled at short notice after New Zealand pulled out of a tour citing safety concerns. England's withdrawal infuriated the Pakistan Cricket Board, who called it "disrespectful" as they made strides to show the country was a secure destination.

England And Pakistan Build For T20 World Cup In Long-Awaited Series

Jos Buttler Wants England Battle-Hardened For T20 World Cup From Pakistan Tour

England skipper Jos Buttler said Thursday he hopes his injury-hit Twenty20 side embrace the challenge of facing a strong Pakistan team on their first tour of the country in 17 years. Security issues have meant Pakistan has struggled to attract visiting sides since an attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009, but tours have slowly resumed in the past few years -- with England the latest. This seven-match series is seen as a preparation for next month's Twenty20 World Cup to be held in Australia, and Buttler hoped his young side build up well for the mega event.

ICC T20 World Cup: Full Squads Of Teams Announced So Far

The ICC T20 World Cup will begin in Australia from next month and most of the teams have announced their 15-member squads for the event. The Aussies under Aaron Finch will be looking to defend their title at home while the likes of New Zealand, England, India and Pakistan will look to the Aussies a tough fight. A rejuvenated Sri Lankan side also looks threatening while the quality of South Africa and West Indies in this format can also not be ignored.

T20 World Cup: England players had 'no issues' with Alex Hales's call-up, says Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler said players had no issues with the inclusion of Alex Hales in the Twenty20 World Cup squad after the batsman received his first call-up since being dropped from the squad in 2019. Hales, 33, was called up as a replacement for Jonny Bairstow, who was ruled out of the tournament in Australia after suffering a lower limb injury while playing golf. In 2019, Hales was withdrawn from the preliminary squad for the 50-overs World Cup after the Guardian newspaper reported he was serving a three-week ban for recreational drug use. "I spoke to lots of the senior players to make sure that no one would have any issues with Alex being back in the team if we wanted to select him. No one had any issues," Buttler told reporters on Thursday ahead of their T20 series in Pakistan. "He's obviously been in excellent form. We know what a talented player he is and he's gained a lot of experience as well since the last time he played for England."