CRICKET

Ben Stokes ruled out of championship Trophy

December, 26, 2024-02:00

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Ben Stokes ruled out of championship Trophy

Smith has yet to make his debut at the T20 level; however, he is now considered a viable option for wicket keeping across all formats following the decision of England's white-ball captain, Jos Butler, to step down from his role on the field at the behest of McCullum. Smith, representing Surrey, was absent during the 2-1 Test victory in New Zealand as he opted to be present for the birth of his first child.

Conversely, Sam Curran is a significant omission from the squad. After being dropped from the series against Australia in September, the player who served as England's vice-captain a year ago was recalled for the recent Caribbean matches but seems to have suffered the consequences of failing to take a wicket in six of his last seven ODIs. In his place, England has chosen Jamie Overton, his teammate from Surrey, to fulfill the role of seam bowling all-rounder. This decision, while not entirely surprising, does result in a lack of diversity within their bowling attack. Since England became 50-over world champions in 2019, only Adel Rashid has claimed more wickets than the trio of David Willey, Reece Topple, and Curran.

However, due to retirement, injury, and exclusion, respectively, they find themselves without a left-arm bowler to offer a different perspective. Joe Root makes his return in the first squads announced under Brendon McCullum as the head coach for multiple formats. A group of 15 players will prepare for their pursuit of another global title with three one-day internationals scheduled in India in February. Root, who has focused solely on Test cricket since the World Cup last November, will join the team in the subcontinent following the conclusion of next month’s five-match T20 series against India. He will replace Leicestershire leg-spinner Rehang Ahmed for the remainder of the tour, having not participated in T20 matches for England since May 2019.