Sam Billings in England ODI squad to face New Zealand
Tuesday 2nd June 2015
Kent wicketkeeper Sam Billings is included in a 14-man squad for the five-match Royal London ODI series against New Zealand beginning on Tuesday 9 June at Edgbaston.
The 23-year-old Kent Cricket Academy graduate is the only uncapped member of the squad, led by Eoin Morgan.
Mark Wood, Jason Roy and David Willey will be hoping to add to their first cap received earlier this summer against Ireland whilst seven players included in the squad to face the World Cup finalists were involved in the World Cup earlier this year.
National selector, James Whitaker, said: “This series presents an excellent opportunity to look at players we believe can play a key role for England over the next four years as we build towards the next ICC Cricket World Cup.
“We have opted to rest Moeen Ali from this series and he will play cricket for Worcestershire in preparation for the Ashes next month.
"A number of players involved in the recent World Cup including James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell and Stuart Broad have been left of the squad for this series.
"It is important to point out that none of these players have been ruled out of playing a role for England in limited-overs formats in the future.
"This squad allows us to look at a group of players who have performed well both at county and England Lions level in recent years.
“On behalf of the selectors I would like to wish Eoin and Paul Farbrace all the very best for what will no doubt be a highly entertaining series against a very strong New Zealand side.”
England ODI squad:Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, captain), Sam Billings (Kent), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), David Willey (Northamptonshire), Mark Wood (Durham)
Royal London ODI Series:Tuesday 9 June at Edgbaston (2pm), Friday June 12 at Kia Oval (1pm), Sunday June 14 at Ageas Bowl (10.30am), Wednesday 17 June at Trent Bridge (2pm), Saturday 20 June at Emirates Durham ICG (10.30am).