England has named their squad for the Test, one-day and T20 squad against Pakistan to be played in the UAE. Alex Hales, Zafar Ansari and James Taylor have been chosen as part of the 16-man Test squad – the series will begin in October. Hales had an extremely poor one-day series against the Aussies, scoring merely 53 runs in five games. However, the selectors have kept their faith in the attacking batsman and have brought him in to replace Adam Lyth in the Tests, who had a highly forgettable Ashes campaign. The selectors have taken into account the 880 plus runs Hales has amassed in domestic cricket.
Ansari, on the other hand, made his debut in an abandoned ODI against Ireland at Dublin in May, but since hasn’t been given another chance. In the meantime, he has excelled in for Surrey, proving his all-round skills with more than 700 runs, and 44 wickets with his accurate left-arm spin. Taylor, who has only featured in two Tests so far, against South Africa three years back, earns a highly deserved recall. He was among the top performers in the one-day series and has been brought into the Test side to replace Gary Balance.
The rest of Test squad is pretty much on expected lines. Following the Ashes triumph, Alastair Cook remains in charge as a leader. And although Hales has been selected, it remains to be seen who opens the innings with the skipper. Jonny Bairstow also keeps his spot as the second keeper. With Jos Buttler struggling for runs, it could be a tight contest between the two. Ian Bell has quashed retirement rumours, and will be keen for big runs. Liam Plunkett continues to find a place in the bowling department, along with the likes of James Anderson, Steven Finn and Mark Wood.
Interestingly, Ben Stokes has been rested from the one-day and T20 squads while Joe Root, who was rested for the Australia ODIs at home, finds his name in all three squads. Chris Jordan has been recalled for the T20s, but not for the ODIs. Jason Roy, Reece Topley, David Willey and Chris Woakes are part of both one-dayers and T20s, apart from Wood.
England squads for Pakistan series in UAE:
Test squad: Alastair Cook (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Zafar Ansari, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood
One-day squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Taylor, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Stephen Parry, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
--By A Cricket Correspondent
