Kevin Pietersen was the big name missing from the England squad announced on Friday for the upcoming five-match one-day international series against India.
The first-choice batsman has been rested as part of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s policy of ‘workload management’. Ben Stokes, who made his England debut in Thursday’s win over Ireland, has been retained alongside a clutch of returning stars who were excused the trip to Dublin. England have rested a number of players under Andy Flower’s leadership, with the likes of James Anderson, Paul Collingwood and — before his retirement from the one-day game — Andrew Strauss among those to have benefited from a break.
Pietersen will play in the Twenty20 match at Old Trafford on Wednesday before standing down for the ODI series, which starts in Durham on September 3. Explaining the move, national selector Geoff Miller said: “The decision to omit Kevin Pietersen from the one-day squad is in line with our policy of sensibly managing player workloads and will give the opportunity to another batsmen to test himself batting at number four.”
Ian Bell, back in the squad alongside five other regulars who skipped the 11-run win over Ireland, would appear to be the man most likely to take that role, creating a chance for Stokes at number six. The 20-year-old, born in New Zealand but raised in Cumbria, made just three at Clontarf before falling to Paul Stirling but is held in high regard by the England hierarchy. He effectively takes the all-rounder role previously bestowed on Luke Wright, who has enjoyed only modest returns in recent times. Stokes is not currently bowling due to a finger injury but with Ravi Bopara and Samit Patel also included, there should be no shortage of options. The elevation of Buttler and Hales, meanwhile, continues England’s interest in the next generation following yesterday’s debut caps for Stokes, Scott Borthwick and James Taylor. Miller said: “Across both squads we believe we’ve selected an exciting blend of experienced international performers along with some exciting young players with a great deal of talent. “We will need to play a high-quality brand of limited-overs cricket against the world champions India. “We’re very excited to have included some bright young players in the form of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Alex Hales, all of whom have proved themselves domestically and will now be looking to successfully take the step up to international level.” Alastair Cook will return at the top of the one-day order and reclaim the captaincy from Eoin Morgan, while Stuart Broad will skipper the Twenty20 side for the second time in Manchester. Uncapped pair Jos Buttler of Somerset and Alex Hales of Nottinghamshire have been called up to the Twenty20 squad.
England squad
Alastair Cook (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Ben Stokes, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott