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England leave Ben Stokes out of first Test squad to face Sri Lanka England leave Ben Stokes out of first Test squad to face Sri Lanka
(35 minutes later)
England have included three uncapped players and Matt Prior in their squad for next week’s first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, and recalled Liam Plunkett seven years after his last cap. But there is no place for Ben Stokes. England have risked further accusations of inconsistency by omitting Ben Stokes from their squad for next week’s first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s because of a lack of cricket following his wrist injury, but including Matt Prior after a single first-class appearance since April.
Sam Robson, Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan are all set to make Test debuts, and Prior has done enough to persuade the selectors that he has recovered from the achilles problem that has been troubling him all season. Stokes provided a rare bright spot in a miserable winter when he played in the last three defeats of the Ashes whitewash. James Whitaker, the national selector, said on announcing the squad at Trent Bridge that his omission was because he has not bowled enough overs in the four appearances he has made for Durham in the last three weeks, after a two-month absence with the hand injury he sustained hitting a dressing room locker in frustration during England’s one-day series in the West Indies in February.
But it is a different story for Stokes, the Durham all-rounder who was a rare bright spot for England in last winter’s miserable Ashes campaign. He only recently returned from a wrist injury sustained hitting a dressing room locker in frustration during the limited-over tour of the West Indies. Chris Woakes looks the most obvious replacement in the squad. But it is a different story for Prior, who was only judged fit enough to keep wicket for the first time this season last week. Whitaker insisted that the 32-year-old, who was dropped for the last two Tests of the Ashes debacle and replaced by Jonny Bairstow, had done enough to remove any doubts about his achilles problem by wicketkeeping for 172 overs in Sussex’s County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Hove.
Robson, the 24-year-old Middlesex opener who was born in Australia but qualifies through an English mother, is set to make his debut as Alastair Cook’s new partner. Moeen Ali is expected to bat at six and Jordan to join Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad in the pace attack after his impressive one-day performances. “We’re very confident,” Whitaker told Sky Sports News. “That’s our number one priority in the selection criteria, somebody being 100% fit, and we’re very confident that Matt is. Right from the start of the season he was disciplined enough to get a hundred [in a championship match against Middlesex in which he played as a specialist batsman]. He’s come back really gunning to get his place back, and we believe he will be part of that core group of senior players who can drive this team forward for the next two or three years.
“Very few people go through their international career without a little bit of a blip, and Matt’s no different. But he will have learned from that, refocused, re-energised, he’s just the sort of character we want in that team.”
Whitaker said that Stokes “is very much part of England’s future. Just at the moment we feel with only 36 or so overs under his belt we would like to see a few more overs, get a bit more stamina into his body. But he’s got the skill, he’s got the discipline. I spoke to him yesterday, he understands that, he’s disappointed because he’s raring to go but he will be back soon I’m sure.”
Durham do not have a game in the next round of County Championship fixtures, so Stokes would also seem likely to miss the second Test against Sri Lanka at Headingley, giving him another fortnight to earn a recall for the five-Test series against India later in the summer.
The squad includes a couple of intriguing possible replacements for Stokes as the fourth seamer at Lord’s, behind Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Jordan – who is one of three players in line to make their Test debuts, with the Middlesex opener Sam Robson and Worcestershire’s Moeen Ali, who will share spin-bowling responsibilities with Joe Root.
Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire all-rounder who made his Test debut against Australia at The Oval last August, would seem to be competing for one place with Liam Plunkett, whose recall almost seven years after the last of his nine Test caps represents a remarkable comeback.
Plunkett was struggling to find a county after he was released by Durham at the end of the 2012 season, even though he had made the last of his 29 one-day international appearances only 18 months earlier. But Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon, who had worked with him at Durham, offered him another chance, and he has relished the role as a Mitchell Johnson style enforcer under their Australian coach Jason Gillespie – and also developed an excellent relationship with Paul Farbrace, who is now a member of the England coaching staff.
“Full credit and congratulations to Liam Plunkett, and to Yorkshire,” added Whitaker. “They have asked him to run in and bowl quick, he’s done that. He excelled on the Lions tour of Sri Lanka in the winter, and he’s shown all the hallmarks of a spearhead fast bowler.
“He’s had some really quick spells, 90mph or so, the quickest at Lord’s against Middlesex so he’ll be confident there and we wish him well, it’s a great achievement.”
Robson, Moeen and Woakes, who was the captain, also made a positive impression on that Sri Lanka trip. Robson, the 24-year-old Middlesex opener who was born in Australia but qualifies through an English mother, is in line to make his debut as Alastair Cook’s new partner.
Root is expected to be given a chance to establish himself in the No3 position previously filled by Jonathan Trott, with Ian Bell keen to succeed Kevin Pietersen at No4, followed by Gary Ballance and Moeen.
“Graeme Swann was a phenomenal player for us, but we just have to adjust our balance of the team,” said Whitaker on the lack of a specialist spinner. “I think we’ve got good options to do that, I’m enthused about how we’re going to be able to balance it with Moeen and Joe. There are some specialist spinners around England but at the moment in early June for a Test match against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, we think we’ve got the balance right.”
England squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka, Thurs 12 JuneEngland squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka, Thurs 12 June
AN Cook (capt), MM Ali, JM Anderson, GS Ballance, IR Bell, SCJ Broad, CJ Jordan, LE Plunkett, MJ Prior (wkt), SD Robson, JE Root, CR Woakes.AN Cook (capt), MM Ali, JM Anderson, GS Ballance, IR Bell, SCJ Broad, CJ Jordan, LE Plunkett, MJ Prior (wkt), SD Robson, JE Root, CR Woakes.