England axe two stalwarts for white-ball series against Australia
Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali could have played their last games for England after being dropped in a shake-up of the national white-ball cricket set-up.
Matthew Mott was sacked as head coach of the limited-overs side last month after disappointing title defences in the one-day and T20 World Cups, and the appetite for change has continued with the removal of two senior men sharing over 400 caps for the forthcoming series against Australia.
Five uncapped players have been called up for Marcus Trescothick’s first assignment as interim coach, with left-arm seamer Josh Hull, all-rounder Jacob Bethell and pace bowler John Turner selected in both formats, while Dan Mousley and Jordan Cox come into the T20 reckoning.
Moeen has been an influential England vice-captain to Jos Buttler in recent times but is now 37 and has acknowledged in the past that his international career was winding down. His role as a spin bowling all-rounder will be covered by his Warwickshire teammates Bethell and Mousley.
Bairstow turns 35 next month but there is no such sense that he is ready to bring the curtain down on his England days. He was an integral part of the white-ball revolution that carried the side to World Cup glory in 2019, and scored back-to-back centuries against India and New Zealand in must-win games at that tournament.
He lost his Test spot earlier this summer after winning his 100th cap over the winter but made his desire to continue representing his country clear in an interview with the BBC during the Hundred.
Bairstow bristled when quizzed about his future, telling former Test captain Michael Vaughan: “All I want to do is play for England. End of. You don’t need to ask me that do you? I think you’ve known me for long enough to know that.”
Despite having around 14 months left on the two-year central contract he signed last October, it seems clear England are looking to move in a different direction and empower the likes of Will Jacks.
Chris Jordan has also been moved on while Liam Livingstone has retained his T20 spot but misses out on the 50-over matches.
Another eye-catching pick is that of Durham seamer Brydon Carse, who completes a three-month ban for historical betting offences on Wednesday. He has not played competitively since May 10 due to his suspension but has been offered an instant return by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
No red-ball regulars have been considered for the three-match T20 series which starts in Hampshire the day after the final Test against Sri Lanka, though Hull and Cox are involved despite being part of Brendon McCullum’s squad.
Harry Brook, Gus Atkinson, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith and Matthew Potts will take a short break before joining up with Trescothick’s ODI team for the five-match series.
Joe Root is not included but it is understood his omission is simply a case of workload management ahead of a busy winter.
Zak Crawley, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood are all out injured but Saqib Mahmood, who conquered his own long-term fitness issues to play a starring role in the Hundred final, returns.
England T20 squad to face Australia
Buttler (c), Archer, Bethell, Carse, Cox, S Curran, Hull, Jacks, Livingstone, Mahmood, Mousley, Rashid, Salt, Topley, Turner.
England ODI squad to face Australia
Buttler (c), Archer, Atkinson, Bethell, Brook, Carse, Duckett, Hull, Jacks, Potts, Rashid, Salt, Smith, Topley, Turner.
PA