England name unchanged squad for West Indies ODI tour
Friday 27 January 2017 15:11, UK
England have kept faith with the squad who toured India for their one-day series in the West Indies next month.
But opener Alex Hales will be on the sidelines after suffering a broken hand during the India series.
Despite the 2-1 defeat in India, Hales is the only member of the 15-man squad who has not been retained for the West Indies tour and no replacement has been named for the Nottinghamshire batsman.
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A 14-man party will therefore take travel to the Caribbean in three matches at the start of March, with Sam Billings set to partner Alex Roy at the top of the order.
With the Champions Trophy taking place in England in June, the selectors have resisted the temptation to tinker with the pace bowling attack.
Jake Ball, Liam Plunkett and David Willey will therefore get another chance to press their claims for Champions Trophy places, while the likes of Stuart Broad, Steven Finn and Chris Jordan miss out.
Chairman of selectors James Whitaker said: "There is a huge emphasis on white ball cricket during the first half of 2017, as we continue our preparation ahead of this summer's ICC Champions Trophy tournament in England.
"We felt it was important to keep faith with the squad that competed during the recent tour of India.
"The current group of players are making excellent progress under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan and head coach Trevor Bayliss and the tour of the Caribbean will enable the team to test themselves in different conditions against a competitive side in the West Indies."
England will arrive in St. Kitts and Nevis on 22 February and will play two warm-up matches at Warner Park, before taking on the West Indies twice in Antigua and once in Barbados.
Hales has been told he does not require surgery after meeting with a surgeon this week and should be fit to take on Ireland in two ODIs at the start of May.
England squad: Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Eoin Morgan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes
