England World Cup squad announced

After much speculation, England’s final 15-man squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup on home soil was announced on Tuesday morning.

Inspirational skipper Eoin Morgan has long been something of a shoo-in. The big-hitting batsman holds the all-time appearance record for England in ODIs, as well as the record for most runs with 6,233 at 40.21. With the series win against Pakistan, Morgan has now presided over a record unbeaten streak of 11 bilateral ODI series.

As expected, Morgan will be joined by a senior group consisting of vice-captain Jos Buttler, mercurial all-rounder Ben Stokes, Test skipper Joe Root and experienced bowler Chris Woakes.

There are three changes to the preliminary squad which was announced last month with Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson and James Vince coming in to replace Joe Denly, Alex Hales and the unfortunate David Willey.

Hampshire all-rounder Dawson currently places third in the PCA’s Overall County Most Valuable Player Rankings. He has performed particularly well in the Royal London One-Day Cup, scoring 274 runs and taking 18 wickets to help propel Hampshire to Saturday’s final. He will be relied upon by the England coaching staff to provide back-up spin should Moeen or Rashid succumb to injury, as well as to contribute handy runs with the bat.

Dawson’s domestic teammate James Vince has also enjoyed a stellar One-Day Cup campaign so far this year. He currently places sixth in the One-Day Cup MVP Ranking and, like Dawson, will unfortunately miss the final at Lord’s due to England’s warm-up game with Australia at the Ageas Bowl the same day. He will be hoping to replicate his strong domestic form on the international stage over the course of the next two months.

Archer is the eye-catching inclusion after qualifying to play for England via his father. The Sussex speedster has taken the cricketing world by storm and he confirmed his World Cup credentials with a stunning four-over spell against Pakistan at The Kia Oval that deserved more than the one wicket it yielded. The white-ball globetrotter’s average speed so far for England is 86.46mph making him the fastest bowler to have played for England since 2005.

Archer’s raw talent is matched by that of Tom Curran. The Surrey all-rounder’s World Cup placed looked to be in doubt prior to the Pakistan series, but Curran averaged 60 with the bat and 31.50 with the ball in those games to move fourth in the Overall England MVP and, more importantly, to sway the all-important England selectors.

Buttler comes into the tournament in the form of his life after another stellar showing in the IPL with the Rajasthan Royals franchise. Stokes, despite experiencing a relatively quiet IPL by his high standards, continues to possess the ability to turn a game on its head in an instant. As ever, Yorkshireman Root will bring a touch of class to the top order of this England ODI side – his career average of 50.47 is reflective of his remarkable talents.

Warwickshire seamer Woakes will be looking to build on a stunning performance in the final ODI against Pakistan that saw him storm to the top of the PCA’s England Men’s Overall Most Valuable Rankings with a 53.50-point haul. The 30-year-old took 5-54 – including his first three wickets without conceding a run – to help seal a 4-0 series victory for England.

Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali – also known as the spin twins – retain their place in the squad. The former will be eyeing up a successful summer after taking home the Overall England MVP for winter 2018/19. Ali will continue to provide his considerable all-round talents: the Worcestershire man has hit 1,691 runs and taken 79 scalps so far in his 96-game ODI career.

At the top of the order, Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy will aim to replicate the form that has seen them become the most prolific opening partnership in England’s ODI history. Bairstow, like the aforementioned Buttler, took this year’s IPL by storm. Only nine batsmen in the tournament were able to better his 445 runs, despite the Yorkshire batsman playing at least three matches less than all of those placed above him.

In recent weeks Roy has impressively overcome a back injury that threatened to keep him out of the World Cup preparations. Although never in doubt, his scores of 87, 76 and 114 during the Pakistan series secured his place in the squad, meaning he could sit out the final game.

Alongside Archer, Curran, Stokes and Woakes, England’s pace bowling line-up will be completed by Liam Plunkett and Mark Wood.

Plunkett and Wood are no strangers to the one-day setup. The former has 124 ODI wickets at an impressive average of 30.14, and there are few bowlers in world cricket more effective in the middle overs. Wood, despite being blighted by injury for much of his career, has still managed 41 career ODIs, regularly reaching speeds of 90mph to establish himself as England’s fastest bowler, an accolade which he will now compete with his newest teammate, Archer.

Should any of the above succumb to injury, Yorkshire’s David Willey and Kent’s Joe Denly will be waiting in the wings to provide more-than-adequate backup.

England’s 15-man ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Squad: