In: Will Jacks
(Picture: Getty Images)Uncapped duo Will Jacks and Liam Livingstone have been named in England’s Test squad for this winter’s tour of Pakistan, but opener Alex Lees has been dropped after missing out on a central contract.
Keaton Jennings and Ben Duckett have been rewarded for fine summers with long-awaited recalls, while Mark Wood is also back, having not featured for England throughout the Test summer because of an elbow problem.
England will play three Tests in Pakistan in December, their first in the country for 17 years, and have named a 15-man squad for those matches, though a larger party will travel to the UAE for a training camp ahead of the series, including a warm-up against the Lions.
Head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes remained extremely loyal to a core group throughout their first summer at the helm, which returned six wins from seven Tests, but have now handed several players their first chances to impress under the new regime and signalled the end of Lees’ run in the side, for now at least.
The Durham batter has played in each of England’s last ten Tests since debuting in the West Indies earlier this year but after an encouraging start to the home summer saw his returns dwindle, and the writing was on the wall after he was left off a list of 30 players offered some form of central contract by the ECB on Tuesday.
Jennings and Duckett look likely to vie for his place alongside Zak Crawley at the top of the order, though there is also the possibility that Harry Brook could be promoted to open.
Jennings has two Test centuries to his name, including one on debut in India in 2016, but won the most recent of his 17 caps against the West Indies more than three years ago. He looks a markedly improved batter now, however, the leading run-scorer in the County Championship this season and a renowned player of spin.
Duckett, meanwhile, played four Tests against India and Bangladesh in 2016 and has not been picked since, but averaged 72 for Nottinghamshire in red-ball cricket this summer, scored a century for the Lions against South Africa in August and has excelled in the shorter formats, including on England’s recent T20 tour of Pakistan.
Brook is guaranteed a run in the side one way or another following Jonny Bairstow’s leg injury, having had to wait until the final Test of the summer to make his debut despite superb form for Yorkshire.
England are light in the spin department, with Moeen Ali having decided against a Test return and Jack Leach the sole frontline spinner in the 15-man squad. Specialist alternatives such as Matt Parkinson, who made his Test debut as a concussion substitute for Leach against New Zealand earlier this summer, have been overlooked, with Livingstone and Jacks instead offering intriguing all-round options.
With bat in hand, Jacks was one of the stars of the domestic summer across formats, averaging 54 in Surrey’s County Championship triumph and lighting up the Vitality Blast and Hundred. It is early days for the 23-year-old as a spinner - he has just 21 first-class wickets - but he is determined to become a genuine all-rounder and impressed behind the scenes during the seven-match T20 series against Pakistan, despite playing only once.
Livingstone was called up for two Tests against New Zealand in 2018 but did not feature and has not played any first-class cricket at all this year. However, he is now an established international, handed a full central contract for the first time yesterday, and is one of the world’s most sought-after T20 players. England’s hierarchy are confident his white-ball skills will translate into the longer format.
There is no place in the main squad for 18-year-old spinner Rehan Ahmed, who had been touted for a call-up, though he is still expected to be involved in the tour as England look to accelerate his development.
The return of Wood’s pace is welcome, with the Durham quick having proven his fitness on his comeback in the Pakistan T20s and set to play a vital role in England’s T20 World Cup campaign in Australia, which begins next week.
James Anderson, Jamie Overton and Ollie Robinson complete England’s seam options, but Stuart Broad will not tour as he and fiancee Mollie King await the birth of their first child, while there is also no place for Matthew Potts, who impressed early in the summer, or the sit-again Sam Curran.
England Test squad for tour of Pakistan: Ben Stokes (Durham), James Anderson (Lancashire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Will Jacks (Surrey), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Jack Leach (Somerset), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Jamie Overton (Surrey) Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Mark Wood (Durham)
