Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran rested for South Africa ODIs
The England And Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has opted to rest three key players – Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran – for the ODI series in South Africa scheduled for later this month. However, all three have been included in the T20 squad for the same tour.
While Jofra Archer and Sam Curran have been heavily involved in the on-going Indian Premier League (IPL) with their respective franchises, Stokes delayed his participation by a month in order to spend time with his ailing father. The move to rest these three key players seems to be an attempt by the ECB to avoid player burnout with a seemingly packed 2021 calendar that could include tours to Sri Lanka, India, another IPL, the T20 World Cup in India and also the Ashes.
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Jofra Archer, who has been playing pretty much non-stop since the English summer, recently said that he was ‘counting down the days’ before he could be free again, while England captain Eoin Morgan warned last month about the strains of ‘bubble to bubble’ cricket on players’ mental health, referring to the bio-secure bubble that has been created for players’ safety, one which they are not allowed to leave without prior permission.
Jos Butler, another player who has played a lot of cricket in the last few months, was included in both squads along with Reece Topley, who returned to England duty for the first time in four years against Ireland in July 2020. Eoin Morgan, Mark Wood, Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy and Sam Billings are the other players to feature in both the squads. England Test captain Joe Root was not included for the T20s.
Jofra Archer’s absence provides an opportunity for Warwickshire quickie Olly Stone, who makes a comeback to the England ODI team for the first time since 2018. Meanwhile, Lancashire batsman Liam Livingstone and Somerset all-rounder Lewis Gregory will also be hoping to make their mark in the 50-over games in the absence of Ben Stokes and Sam Curran.
Tom Banton, Jake Ball and Tom Helm have been named in the reserves for both the squads.
Elsewhere, Saqib Mahmood and Matt Parkinson, the young Lancashire bowlers, are both eye-catching omissions, while other overlooked players who have been in recent squads include Pat Brown, Joe Denly, Phil Salt and James Vince. David Willey, who was a surprise omission from the squads to play Australia after being named player of the series against Ireland, has a minor back injury, while Liam Dawson (Achilles) and Richard Gleeson (back) were also unavailable.
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England’s tour of South Africa kicks off on the 27th of November with three T20 internationals. These will be followed by three ODIs beginning December 4. Both the T20 and ODI teams will be led by Eoin Morgan.
England ODI Squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Lewis Gregory, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
England T20 Squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, Mark Wood
England white-ball tour to South Africa schedule:
- Nov 27: First T20I, Cape Town
- Nov 29: Second T20I, Paarl
- Dec 1: Third T20I, Cape Town
- Dec 4: First ODI, Cape Town
- Dec 6: Second ODI, Paarl
- Dec 9: Third ODI, Cape Town