Image courtesy of: Zimbio
England have decided to rest the pace duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, all-rounder Moeen Ali and batsmen Ian Bell and Gary Ballance for the upcoming five-match ODI series against New Zealand.
The decision was taken as the national selectors are keen to get younger players in the team, which they have managed to do as Mark Wood, Jason Roy and David Willey are all part of the 14-man squad.
“This series presents an excellent opportunity to look at players we believe can play a key role for England over the next four years as we build towards the next ICC Cricket World Cup,” national selector James Whitaker told Sky Sports. “We have opted to rest Moeen Ali from this series and he will play cricket for Worcestershire in preparation for the Ashes next month. A number of players involved in the recent World Cup including James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell and Stuart Broad have been left of the squad for this series.
“It is important to point out that none of these players have been ruled out of playing a role for England in limited overs formats in the future. This squad allows us to look at a group of players who have performed well both at county and England Lions level in recent years.
“On behalf of the selectors I would like to wish Eoin and Paul Farbrace all the very best for what will no doubt be a highly entertaining series against a very strong New Zealand side.”
The first ODI between England and New Zealand will be held at Edgbaston on June 9.
England ODI squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, David Willey, Mark Wood.