Joe Root admits ‘ship may have sailed’ on T20 England career

Root, who is one of the best players of spin in the world, averages 53.57 in T20Is in India, and although the 35-year-old has never played a T20 in Sri Lanka, he averages 73.7 in ODIs in Sri Lanka and 65.5 in Tests. Across the recent ODI series in Colombo, Root made scores of 61, 75 and 111 not out.

In an attempt to get back into the England T20 set-up, Root has taken on more franchise opportunities in recent years, including in the SA20 last season, where he averaged more than 50 and had a strike rate of 140. Root’s form in T20 cricket over the past three years has been strong, and in the most recent Hundred, his record was almost identical to his Trent Rockets and England team-mate Tom Banton, who has been selected for the upcoming World Cup.

“I think that ship might have sailed,” Root said. “I don’t think I’ll give up… but I’m quite aware of where I probably sit within the international team and that format.”

If England wished to make changes to their 15-man squad, they would be able to until January 31, but Brook confirmed England would not look to take up that option.

“The last thing Harry needs is some old bloke picking at his ear,” Root said of whether he’d spoken to Brook about getting back into the squad.

“That’s part and parcel of the game. Those guys are ahead of me. I still have ambitions of playing T20 cricket. I love playing the format, I think it’s great but when I look at that squad of players, it’s a hell of a team, and there’s a huge amount of depth in all areas . . . they have definitely got the tools and ability to go out and win this tournament.

“Hopefully that’s the case and I can enjoy it from the other side of the screen watching on from home.”

Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali join Lions coaching staff

Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali will join Andrew Flintoff’s England Lions coaching team for the white-ball series against Pakistan A in Abu Dhabi next month (Elizabeth Ammon writes).

Stokes, 34, is using the tour as part of his rehabilitation from the groin injury he suffered while bowling in the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney this month, but will also use the opportunity to expand his coaching experience, having previously worked with Flintoff in a “mentoring” role at the Northern Superchargers in the Hundred last summer.

Ali will also join the coaching staff for the first part of the tour, which comprises three T20s and five 50-over matches. The 38-year-old all-rounder has reversed the decision to retire from English domestic cricket, which he announced last year, and has signed for Yorkshire for this summer’s T20 Blast but is also transitioning into coaching for when he does stop playing for good.

This will be the first time in three years that the England Lions will be playing any competitive white-ball cricket — all of their competitive fixtures in the past three years have been red-ball/first-class, with the ECB using the under-19s programmes, appearances in winter franchise leagues and the English 50-over cup for the development of younger players in white-ball formats.

This is a change in direction for the Lions programme: the T20 series will be their first since 2018, and they have not played a competitive 50-over match since touring Sri Lanka in early 2023.

The T20 squad will be captained by the Essex all-rounder Jordan Cox while the 50-over side will be captained by the Warwickshire spinner Dan Mousley, both of whom have played for the senior England side. The T20 squad includes the seamer Saqib Mahmood, who is making his return from knee surgery.

Both Cox and Mahmood have visas for India should there be any injuries in the T20 World Cup squad that require a late replacement. The Durham seamer Matthew Potts is also included in the 50-over squad, which will be his first competitive outing since his nightmare performance in the final Ashes Test, when he went for 141 runs off 25 overs in Australia’s first innings and did not bowl in their second.

Lions T20 squad

Jordan Cox (Essex, captain), Sonny Baker (Hampshire), Luc Benkenstein (Essex), James Coles (Sussex), Sam Cook (Essex), Scott Currie (Hampshire), Calvin Harrison (Northamptonshire), Eddie Jack (Hampshire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Ben McKinney (Durham), Tom Moores (Nottinghamshire), Dan Mousley (Warwickshire), Matt Revis (Yorkshire), Will Smeed (Somerset), Nathan Sowter (Durham), Mitch Stanley (Lancashire), Asa Tribe (Glamorgan).

Lions 50-over squad

Dan Mousley (Warwickshire, captain), Sonny Baker (Hampshire), Luc Benkenstein (Essex), Sam Cook (Essex), James Coles (Sussex), Scott Currie (Hampshire), Calvin Harrison (Northamptonshire), Eddie Jack (Hampshire), Ben McKinney (Durham), Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire), Matthew Potts (Durham), Matt Revis (Yorkshire), James Rew (Somerset), Mitch Stanley (Lancashire), Asa Tribe (Glamorgan), James Wharton (Yorkshire).

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