White-ball coach Matthew Mott has not ruled out the possibility of including Harry Brook in England’s 50-over World Cup team.
Last month, England selector Luke Wright said that a preliminary selection would travel to India without Brook.
In the T20 series against New Zealand, Brook, 24, scored a century, 48 not out, and 67 runs, despite making only four on Tuesday.
Mott said England is “keeping an open mind” to the idea on BBC Sport.
England loses, but New Zealand rallies to tie the series.
TMS podcast has an interview with Mott and commentary on the T20 series.
What I would tell Harry, according to Mott, is that “you want to see [players] coming out and slamming that door down” after being left off a squad.
And I thought he made a big statement at the beginning of this series with his hundred in The Hundred.
All of those facts work in his favor and strengthen his case.
There will be lots of exciting cricket over the next month, so we’ll have a better idea of the final roster composition after that.
Beginning on Friday, England’s provisional World Cup squad will play New Zealand in four one-day internationals.
But Mott has confirmed that Brook will be part of the squad for the three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against Ireland that will follow.
The final ODI between England and Ireland is on September 26, and England’s World Cup squad, plus three traveling reserves, must be named by September 28.
When asked if Brook had any more opportunities, Mott responded, “Yes, it is.”
Additionally, he stated, “I think the guys that are in that 15 have got the first crack at it, but as we’ve said throughout, we’ll just monitor and see how players are going and make some fine-tuning if necessary.”
Nearly a month will pass until we play our first game at the World Cup, but in the meantime, there is plenty of cricket to be played. Players have many options for raising their hands.
After just 12 Tests, Brook has established himself as a regular, with an average of 61.15 thanks to four hundreds.
Although he has only been in three one-day internationals, he was a key member of England’s winning T20 World Cup team last year.
Ben Stokes’s return forced the right-hander out of the initial selection, and it appears that Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, or possibly spinner David Willey would be at the greatest risk should he be recalled.
In contrast to Brook, who bats in the middle of the order, both Roy and Malan are top-order performers, and all-rounder Livingstone bowls useful spin.
Among the top players of his generation, “he’s a gun player,” Mott predicted.
As one commenter put it, “It’s just incredibly hard to select a side and to squeeze 15 players into it.”
On October 5 in Ahmedabad, England will face New Zealand as they open their World Cup quest to defend the title they won in 2019.
