England selectors today named a 17-man Test squad and 15-man ODI squad for the autumn tour of Bangladesh starting next month.
The 19-year-old Lancashire opening batsman Haseeb Hameed has been included in the Test squad for the first time and there is also a place in both squads for Northamptonshire’s prolific batsman Ben Duckett.
England have selected four spinners in the Test party. The uncapped Surrey left-armer Zafar Ansari is included alongside his county captain Gareth Batty, who will be looking to play at this level for the first time since 2005. The 38-year-old has played seven Tests for England including three against Bangladesh. The quartet is completed with Worcestershire’s Moeen Ali and Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
Lancashire wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler returns to the Test squad for the first time since October 2015. Durham seamer Mark Wood is named in the 17 and could add to his eight caps with the last coming nearly 12 months ago.
Buttler will captain the ODI squad during the three-match series for which top-order batsman Joe Root has been rested.
England Test captain Alastair Cook is set to travel to Bangladesh a week ahead of the Test party to work on his skills before returning home for the birth of his second child. Cook will miss the two-day warm-up match, scheduled to start on Friday October 14, before returning to Bangladesh to lead the team in the first Test in Chittagong commencing on Thursday October 20.
“After a summer of progress at home across all formats, we can expect another test of our credentials this autumn," commented National Selector James Whitaker.
“The challenge we face will be very different and the structure of our squads reflects the conditions we expect to encounter in Bangladesh.
“Haseeb Hameed, for someone so young, has had an impressive season in the Specsavers County Championship with Lancashire. He has been a consistent performer and his four centuries, against some of the best bowling attacks in the country, are testament to his outstanding temperament and attitude. We feel he fully deserves an opportunity to compete for a place at the top of the order in our Test side.
“Ben Duckett merits his call-up to both squads after showing his qualities as an attacking batsman, both in the county game and for the England Lions. Throughout the campaign, he has scored heavily for Northamptonshire in first-class cricket including two double hundreds. His 220 not out for the England Lions in a 50-over game against Sri Lanka A earlier this summer was very special and we look forward to seeing Ben continue his development at the highest level in the game.
“Selecting four spinners for the Test matches will give the coaches and captain plenty of options. Alongside Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, we are excited about the qualities that Zafar Ansari and Gareth Batty bring to the squad. Zafar has great potential both with bat and ball and Gareth’s experience as one of the country’s best slow bowlers and his ability to be effective in subcontinent conditions will be beneficial this winter.”
ECB also announced today that the former England One-day captain Paul Collingwood and head coach of the England under-19s Andy Hurry will both join the England management team in roles during the ODI series.
For the Test series, Ottis Gibson will replace Paul Farbrace as Trevor Bayliss’ assistant. Farbrace will have a break after the ODIs before heading back to the subcontinent for five Test matches in India starting in November. Worcestershire’s Director of Cricket, Steve Rhodes, will assist England management for the two Tests in Bangladesh.
England Test squad:
Alastair Cook (Essex) captain
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Zafar Ansari (Surrey)
Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Gary Ballance (Yorkshire)
Gareth Batty (Surrey)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire)
Steven Finn (Middlesex)
Haseeb Hameed (Lancashire)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
One-Day International squad
Jos Buttler (Lancashire) captain
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire)
Sam Billings (Kent)
Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire)
Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Jason Roy (Surrey)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
James Vince (Hampshire)
David Willey (Yorkshire)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
Bangladesh v England 2016 – tour itinerary:
30 September: England team arrive
4 October: One-day game vs Bangladesh Cricket Board XI, Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah
7 October: 1st ODI D/N, Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka
9 October: 2nd ODI D/N, Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka
12 October: 3rd ODI D/N, Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong
14-15 October: Two-day warm-up match, M. A. Aziz Stadium, Chittagong
20-24 October: 1st Test, Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong
28 October-1 November: 2nd Test, Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka
2 November: England depart Bangladesh
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