England white-ball head coach Matthew Mott has explained why Harry Brook was overlooked for a spot in England’s provisional 15-man World Cup squad but stressed the group he had picked was “provisional”.
Brook has been one of the star batters in the world game over the past year or so, enjoying a sensational start to his Test career in particular averaging over 60 at a scarcely believable strike rate of 91.76. England’s compact international schedule restricted Brook – who is a regular in England’s Test and T20I sides – to just three ODI appearances, all of which came in South Africa earlier this year. For a variety of reasons, other England all-format stars have found ODI appearances hard to come by in the last year; none of Ben Stokes, Joe Root or Jonny Bairstow have played an ODI in the past 12 months.
In a 15-man provisional squad that included six seamers, Brook was overlooked in favour of Dawid Malan and Jason Roy, both of whom boast excellent ODI records. Malan averages over 50 in the format while Roy, a key member of England’s World Cup winning side in 2019, is one half of one of the most formidable opening partnerships in the history of ODI cricket. The reversal of Stokes’ retirement from ODI cricket was another factor in Brook’s omission from England’s provisional World Cup squad.
Prior to the fourth and final match of England’s T20I series against New Zealand, Mott was pressed on the call to leave Brook out from the provisional 15-man group for the World Cup on Sky Sports Cricket. Speaking to former England captain Michael Atherton, Mott said: “I don’t think anyone doubts Harry’s ability. He’s an incredible player and what I’ve been most impressed with is his response since missing out.”
Mott did not explicitly rule out the possibility of changes being made to the final squad submitted for the World Cup.
“There’s a lot to play out before we pick that first XI against New Zealand in India,” he added. “We’ve always said it’s a provisional squad. And everyone will get a really good opportunity to show what they’ve got.
“I think there’s a fair bit of loyalty that goes with that [the decision to leave out Brook]. Harry has not played a lot of one day cricket over the last few years, he’s been exceptionally good in Test cricket and T20 cricket and leagues around the world. But the guys that we did pick, they’ve done a great job for England over the last few years. And it’s always harder to get into sides than it is to get out of them. And we’ve played that card there. As I said, it’s a provisional squad. Every team will be tinkering before the World Cup. And everyone – whether they’re in that 15 or outside of it – should be determined to try and put their best foot forward.”
Brook is not currently in England’s ODI squad to play New Zealand, with that series beginning on Friday, September 8.
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