England name new squad for Pak ODIs after virus outbreak

London: England named an entirely new squad featuring nine uncapped players on Tuesday for their ODI series against Pakistan, after a coronavirus outbreak in the English camp.

The England and Wales Cricket Board said three players and four support staff, all unnamed, had tested positive for Covid-19, with the rest of the group who completed an ODI series win over Sri Lanka on Sunday forced to self-isolate.

But the three-match series against Pakistan, starting in Cardiff on Thursday, will go ahead, with Ben Stokes taking over the England captaincy from Eoin Morgan.

The hosts have been forced to name an entirely new 18-man squad for the Pakistan matches, with the ongoing round of County Championship matches now beset by withdrawals.

Test batsmen Zak Crawley and Dan Lawrence will



now have a chance to make their 50-over debuts for England and they are joined in the squad by several white-ball newcomers including Durham’s Brydon Carse and Middlesex pair Tom Helm and John Simpson.

After Thursday’s fixture in Cardiff, the ODI series continues at Lord’s on Saturday before finishing at Edgbaston in Birmingham on July 13.

England and Pakistan are due to play three T20 Internationals following the ODI series and the initial squad will be back for that after 10 days of isolation.

Revised squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Jake Ball, Danny Briggs, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Phil Salt, John Simpson, James Vince.