England name Zafar Ansari and Alex Hales in Test squad to play Pakistan
Wednesday 16 September 2015 00:50, UK
Surrey's Zafar Ansari has been named in England's Test squad to face Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, along with Nottinghamshire duo Alex Hales and James Taylor.
Uncapped left-armer Ansari, who scored 99 against Lancashire on Monday, will be the third spin-bowling all-rounder in the squad alongside Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.
But the 23-year-old suffered an open dislocation of his left thumb when fielding in the County Championship clash against Lancashire. Both Surrey and England will be hoping for positive news following treatment.
Hales has also been included in the Test squad for the first time and is joined by Nottinghamshire team-mate Taylor, whose last Test cap was against South Africa in 2012.
England fly out to the UAE on September 30 with the opening tour match against Pakistan A on October 5 in Sharjah, and the first of three Tests beginning on Tuesday October 13, in Abu Dhabi.
After the three Test matches, England will play four one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals, the last of which is on Monday, November 30.
Joe Root has been recalled after being rested for the ODI series against Australia, with Ben Stokes given a rest this time round for the one-day matches. There is no place in the squads for either Adam Lyth or Gary Ballance.
Lancashire's Stephen Parry has been recalled to the T20 International squad, which also features Sussex paceman Chris Jordan, now fully recovered from a side injury
National selector James Whitaker said: "We would like to congratulate Alastair Cook, Eoin Morgan, Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace on the excellent results they have achieved this summer across all three different formats.
"We are particularly pleased with the way in which a host of new, young players have swiftly adapted to international cricket and made their mark on the England team in such style.
"The challenge we face against Pakistan will be very different and the composition of our squads reflects the conditions we expect to encounter in the UAE. Zafar Ansari's potential excites us and he will provide strong competition for Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in the Test squad after enjoying an excellent domestic season with both bat and ball for Surrey.
"Alex Hales has scored heavily for Nottinghamshire in first class cricket this season, has shown he can play match-winning innings for England in white ball cricket and fully deserves an opportunity to compete for a place at the top of the order in our Test side.
"In line with our recent decision to rest Joe Root for the Royal London One-Day Series against Australia, we have opted not to include Ben Stokes in our One-Day or T20 International squads.
"Ben has been an outstanding performer for England this summer and this decision reflects a desire to manage his workload across a busy winter period in all three formats of the game. He will come back into contention for the white-ball format when we consider the make-up of our squads for the tour of South Africa later in the year."
The squads in full:
England Test squad: Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Zafar Ansari, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood.
One-Day International squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Taylor, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
T20 International squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Stephen Parry, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
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