Joe Root misses out on England T20 squad to face Australia | Cricket News

Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler and Mark Wood return for both T20s and ODIs; Ben Stokes still unavailable

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England National Selector Ed Smith explains why Joe Root has been left out of the T20I squad for the three-game series against Australia

England have brought back a number of their World Cup winners for their white-ball series against Australia, but Joe Root has again been excluded from the T20I squad.

The Test captain was the third-highest run-scorer at the 2016 T20 World Cup but has not played a T20 international for over a year, despite still being keen to feature in the shortest format.

Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Mark Wood all return to the fold for both the T20 and ODI series, while Chris Woakes is back in the 50-over squad and Joe Denly comes in for the T20s.

England vs Pakistan

September 1, 2020, 5:30pm

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However, England are not quite back to full strength with Jason Roy ruled out of the T20 matches due to a left side strain that prevented him playing in the ongoing series against Pakistan, and Ben Stokes remains unavailable for family reasons.

Roy will stay inside England’s bio-secure bubble as he aims to prove his fitness in time for the three-match one-day series at Emirates Old Trafford.

National Selector Ed Smith, said: “These two series against Australia provide an exciting end to the summer. We have selected strong squads. We are also continuing to develop depth in preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cups.”

On the absence of Root, who has hit back-to-back fifties for Yorkshire in the Vitality Blast, from the T20 group, Smith added: “I don’t think any door is closed to Joe Root. He’s a brilliant cricketer, outstanding man and he’s also England’s Test captain.

“At the moment, we are setting up in a particular way as an XI in T20 cricket and Joe’s not in that. Then the decision moves towards, well if he’s not in that starting XI at the moment – although no doors are closed to him in the future – and that could easily change, where is the right place for Joe?

“He plays so much cricket, gives so much to England every time he plays and the decision is that it is not right for him that we have him in the squad if he’s not likely to be starting, so he’s not in the squad for the T20s.

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Smith says the inclusion of Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler in the T20I squad to face Australia shows England want to field their strongest XI

“We’ve all seen that Joe is an exceptionally adaptable and outstanding batsman and he could easily come back into the reckoning. But at the moment, that’s where it sits.”

The three T20Is, all to be played at the Ageas Bowl, will take place over five days, starting on Friday, before both teams travel up to Manchester for the ODIs.

England T20I squad in full: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) (captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Sam Billings (Kent), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Tom Curran (Surrey), Joe Denly (Kent), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

Reserves: Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire).

England vs Australia

September 4, 2020, 5:30pm

Live on

England ODI squad in full: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) (captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Sam Billings (Kent), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Tom Curran (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

Reserves: Joe Denly (Kent), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire).

Watch the third and final T20I between England and Pakistan live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 5.30pm on Tuesday.

Then watch the first T20I between England and Australia live on the same channels from 5.30pm on Friday.