England white-ball captain Jos Buttler is set to return for the tour of the West Indies later this month with three debutants also named in the squad.
Buttler missed England’s T20 and ODI series against Australia in September as he continued to recover from his calf injury.
Yorkshire leg-spinner Jafer Chohan, 22, earns his maiden call-up and becomes the first graduate of the South Asian Cricket Academy to be selected to an England men’s squad.
Hampshire’s right-arm pace bowler John Turner and Warwickshire’s batting all-rounder Dan Mousley have also been named in the squad. The pair were also chosen for the recent Australia series but did not receive a call-up to the starting XI.
Johannesburg-born Turner, who qualifies for England through his Zambian mother born to English parents, also toured the Caribbean last December with England.
His former coach – ex-Durham and South Africa cricketer Dale Benkenstein – has likened Turner’s action to Australian great Glenn McGrath.
Part-time off-spinner Mousley signed his first professional contract with Warwickshire in 2019 and made his first-class debut against Essex in July that year.
An initial 14-player squad has been selected which will be supplemented with two players from the Test squad in Pakistan.
A decision on the two players to join the white-ball squad in the Caribbean will be made after selection for the third Test in Rawalpindi, which begins on Thursday October 24.
England will play three ODIs and five T20s during their three-week tour. Their previous visit of the Caribbean ended in defeat with West Indies winning the ODI series 2-1 and the T20 leg 3-2.
England also drew their T20 series against Australia last month 1-1 and fell to a 3-2 defeat in the ODI series with Harry Brook captaining in Buttler’s absence.
Interim head coach Marcus Trescothick will continue his role during the Caribbean tour with Brendon McCullum set to take the reins in January 2025 alongside his role as the Test head coach, in time for the white-ball tour of India and the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
England are hoping McCullum will be able to regenerate the white-ball side after they lost both of their world titles in the space of eight months, which led to Matthew Mott’s departure.
Chohan: It feels like an absolute dream
Chohan claimed 17 wickets in 10 Vitality Blast appearances this season for Yorkshire and is hoping to improve his game under the ultra-positive England set-up.
“It feels like an absolute dream to be selected. It’s what I’ve worked for my whole life,” he said.
“I’ve had a great week – having it announced about another three years at Yorkshire as well as having a call up now with England.
“For me this is a really good opportunity to be around some of the best players in the world, learn as much as I can and just really sharpen up my game as much as possible.”
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McCullum is very confident in Jos Buttler’s position as white-ball skipper and wants him to enjoy playing for England again
The 22-year-old also claimed a career best 5-14 in a North Group win over Durham at Headingley in July and has spent time learning from Dawid Malan.
“Having big England names in the Yorkshire dressing room it doesn’t get too much better than that in terms of helping me improve,” Chohan added.
“It has helped at Yorkshire seeing how England players go about their work and how well they understand their games and how well they know what works for them.
“I also try and pick their brains as much as I can. I’ve spent a good amount of time with Mala (Dawid Malan) this season and as a cricketing brain he is just unbelievable – so I’ve spent time with him, picking his brain and just learning as quick as I can.
“My skillset is a very unique one and a bit different to what England has had before.
“I feel very confident in my game and I like to express myself as a person with how I bowl and I think that works to my strength. Being in this new environment will be a really good opportunity to thrive.”
‘Selection shows a change in policy from England’
Tom Brown, co founder and MD of the South Asian Cricket Academy, said:
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Managing Director & Co-Founder of SACA Dr Tom Brown discusses Jafer Chohan inclusion into the England squad for the tour of the West Indies, the first player to come through the South Asian Cricket Academy.
“He’s a young leg spinner with the world’s longest run-up. He works a lot with both Adil and Ammar Rashid up at the Adil Rashid Centre, so although he’s only 22, you’re going to see a leg spinner who’s beyond his years in terms of maturity and knowing his game.
“I think what’s happening now is that the game is becoming far more objective in its talent selection. England famously are talking about selecting around attributes rather than averages.
“And that’s why you see guys like Shoaib Bashir and Japh being picked because they hit certain metrics. It’s no longer about do you fit in and your character as such, although that might be one of the metrics. But the game is becoming more objective and using research to understand what correlates with high performance means that biases around selection will hopefully be minimised.”
West Indies vs England ODI schedule
All times are GMT
- First ODI: Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua – Thursday October 31 (6pm)
- Second ODI: Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua – Saturday November 2 (1.30pm)
- Third ODI: Kensington Oval, Barbados – Wednesday November 6 (6pm)
West Indies vs England T20 schedule
- First T20: Kensington Oval, Barbados – Saturday November 9 (8pm)
- Second T20: Barbados – Sunday November 10 (8pm)
- Third T20: Beausejour Stadium, St Lucia – Thursday November 14 (8pm)
- Fourth T20: Beausejour Stadium, St Lucia – Saturday November 16 (8pm)
- Fifth T20: Beausejour Stadium, St Lucia – Sunday November 17 (8pm)
Every match from the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup is also live on Sky Sports from October 3-20 with Australia aiming for a third straight title and seventh overall, and England seeking to triumph for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2009.
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.