Billings selected for England ODI series in West Indies

Sam Billings has retained his place in the England squad for a three-match One-Day International series against West Indies starting in March in Antigua.

The squad remains unchanged from the side that finished the recent ODI series in India.

The 25-year-old Kent Cricket Academy graduate scored 35 on his seventh ODI appearance in England’s five-run victory at Kolkata on Sunday before 22 off 10 balls in a seven-wicket win in his seventh international T20.

National selector 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 Wednesday February 22 before playing two warm-up matches at Warner Park on Saturday February 25 and Monday February 27.

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England ODI Squad:

Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)

Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire)

Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire)

Sam Billings (Kent)

Jos Buttler (Lancashire)

Liam Dawson (Hampshire)

Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) Captain

Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire)

Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)

Joe Root (Yorkshire)

Jason Roy (Surrey)

Ben Stokes (Durham)

David Willey (Yorkshire).

Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

Fixtures:

Warm-up match (50 overs), WICB President’s XI v England XI, Saturday February 25 2017, Warner Park, St. Kitts & Nevis (9.30am AST, 1.30pm GMT)

Warm-up match (50 overs), WICB President’s XI v England XI, Monday February 27 2017, Warner Park, St. Kitts & Nevis (9.30am AST, 1.30pm GMT)

First ODI, West Indies v England, Friday March 3 2017, Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua (9.30am AST, 1.30pm GMT)

Second ODI, West Indies v England, Sunday March 5 2017, Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua (9.30am AST, 1.30pm GMT)

Third ODI, West Indies v England, Thursday March 9 2017, Kensington Oval, Barbados (9.30am AST, 1.30pm GMT)