Jason Roy returns to England ODI squad for series against Australia after T20 World Cup
- Planet Sport writer
- 25 October 2022
Jason Roy will return to England duty next month after being included in the squad for their ODI series against Australia which immediately follows the T20 World Cup.
There are recalls for Sam Billings, James Vince and Olly Stone while Luke Wood, uncapped in the 50-over format, has also been drafted into a group containing nine members of England's World Cup squad.
Roy was dropped ahead of the World Cup and downgraded from a central contract to an incremental deal after an elongated run of poor form for England and the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred.
The 32-year-old revealed last week he was "gutted" and "motivated to say the least" about his axing but a batter so crucial to England's 2019 50-over World Cup triumph maintains his place in the ODI squad.
With limited-overs captain Jos Buttler batting down the order in ODIs and Jonny Bairstow injured, it seems probable Roy will open alongside Phil Salt in the three-match series against Australia.
Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone and Mark Wood are omitted as they are set to arrive in Abu Dhabi on November 18, the day after the first ODI, to start preparations for the Test trip to Pakistan.
Alex Hales is another of the World Cup squad to miss out, having recently come back to England's ranks after a three-and-a-half-year absence, while Tymal Mills is exclusively a T20 player.
Both Billings and Vince most recently featured in an ODI in July last year while neither has played a white-ball game for England since a deciding T20 against the West Indies at Barbados in January.
But the absences of several first-choice players hands those on the fringes a chance, with Chris Jordan part of the 15-strong squad while Stone is in line for his first ODI appearance since October 2018.
The fast bowler has had a succession of injury problems in recent years but was back in an England shirt during the T20 series in Pakistan last month and has a chance to build on that in Australia.
Luke Wood made his international debut in Pakistan in September and is one of England's travelling reserves at the World Cup, with Liam Dawson another. The pair will remain in Australia for the ODIs.
The series starts at Adelaide just four days after the scheduled World Cup final on November 13.
The second ODI takes place at Sydney on November 19 and the series concludes in Melbourne on November 22.
