Jofra Archer has been included in England’s preliminary squad for their defence of the T20 World Cup title in the West Indies and the United States in June.
Archer missed England’s triumphant run at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia through injury, with a long-standing elbow issue keeping him out for the best part of two years.
His last international appearance came on a tour of Bangladesh in early 2023, though he has played club cricket in Barbados and pre-season games for Sussex in a bid to prove his fitness since then.
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The other headline selection is that of fellow paceman Chris Jordan, who has been recalled after being omitted from Jos Buttler’s squad for December’s tour of the West Indies.
His inclusion comes at the expense of Chris Woakes, who had been a fixture in England’s limited-overs setup and played a key role in helping them become the first men’s team to hold the T20 and ODI world crowns simultaneously.
Nine of the 15 players included in Buttler’s party featured at the 2022 tournament, with all-rounder Tom Hartley the only uncapped player in the 20-over format and Will Jacks the only other squad member to have never featured at a T20 World Cup.
⏳ Jofra Archer 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴…
■■■■■■■■■□□□#EnglandCricket | @T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/YdkU95zEyT— England Cricket (@englandcricket) April 30, 2024
Changes can be made to World Cup squads until the final deadline of May 25, with England set to prepare for the tournament by hosting Pakistan for four T20Is between May 22 and May 30.
The England and Wales Cricket Board say those players currently participating in the Indian Premier League will be available for the first of those matches, with England set to fly out to the Caribbean on May 31.
They face Scotland in their Group B opener on June 4, then take on Australia, Oman and Namibia before the conclusion of the group stage.
Buttler’s team will be hoping for a far better title defence than the one they managed at the 50-over tournament last year, when they crashed out in the first round after losing six of their nine matches.
England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
Our ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad looking 🔥🔥🔥
Who are you most looking forward to seeing? 👇#EnglandCricket | @T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/48Q6pO2CzE
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) April 30, 2024
