There may be troubles ahead: England selection issues.

[Alviro Patterson]

That's another three weeks of rest for Bairstow.

How Duckett hasn't made any of the squads is beyond me.

[ianp1970]

surprised they picked root for ireland.

Only 5 matches before the Champions Trophy opener. I expect the strongest possible team to get a run out. Stokes, Buttler and Woakes to return for the South Africa games.

[rich1uk]

That's another three weeks of rest for Bairstow.

How Duckett hasn't made any of the squads is beyond me.

Duckett is in the squad for the Ireland games

CT squad is just as expected tbh, it feels weird going into a major tournament with a settled squad and no real drama over any of the selections

[Arthur Crabtree]

England squad for Champions Trophy and South Africa series:

E Morgan (Middx, capt), M Ali (Worcs), J Bairstow (Yorks), J Ball (Notts), S Billings (Kent), J Buttler (Lancs), A Hales (Notts), L Plunkett (Yorks), A Rashid (Yorks), J Root (Yorks), J Roy (Surrey), B Stokes (Durham), D Willey (Yorks), C Woakes (Warwicks), M Wood (Durham).

England squad for Ireland series:

E Morgan (Middx, capt), M Ali (Worcs), J Bairstow (Yorks), J Ball (Notts), S Billings (Kent), B Duckett (Northants), S Finn (Middx), A Hales (Notts), L Plunkett (Yorks), A Rashid (Yorks), J Root (Yorks), J Roy (Surrey), D Willey (Yorks), M Wood (Durham).

So Finn for Stokes and Buttler in the Ireland game. No wild cards.

Oops. Finn and Duckett for Buttler, Stokes and Woakes.

[Alviro Patterson]

That's another three weeks of rest for Bairstow.

How Duckett hasn't made any of the squads is beyond me.

Duckett is in the squad for the Ireland games

CT squad is just as expected tbh, it feels weird going into a major tournament with a settled squad and no real drama over any of the selections

Ah, so he is.

Most debatable selection for me in that CT squad is Bairstow, who has barely played a decent innings in white ball international cricket. Since Bairstow is likely to be a squad player and there is a short turnover time between Champions Trophy and the South Africa test series, it makes more sense if Bairstow got some red ball cricket in as preparation.

I don't understand the recent England experiement of Bairstow or Billings opening in ODIs when Moeen Ali is a white ball opener by trade. If anything Moeen opening strengthens the middle order if Hales or Roy are not in the xi.

Moeen
Roy or Hales
Root
Morgan
Buttler
Billings or Bairstow
Stokes
Woakes
Willey
Plunkett or Wood
Rashid

[rich1uk]

they said today that Billings will almost certainly be the keeper in the Ireland games and wont open, and would expect him to not be in the XI for the SA series or CT with Buttler replacing him when he comes back from the IPL

unless Roy or Hales look a bit wobbly in the warmups i would expect them to open with Moeen dropping down the the spot you have for Billings/Bairstow in that XI

still some discussion about how effective Willey is after his initial new ball spell and thoughts that they either bowl him a much longer spell straight up at the start or he could be left out and Wood and Plunkett both play

[Arthur Crabtree]

Or they leave a spinner out and play 5+1. I can see that happening as soon as a spinner has a bad game.

[ianp1970]

Or they leave a spinner out and play 5+1. I can see that happening as soon as a spinner has a bad game.

I hope not

IMO: If the eventual winning team has only 6 bowling options, then at least 2 will be spinners!

[Arthur Crabtree]

They went in with one spinner in India.

It's England's zero setting. They're happier that way.

[bigfluffylemon]

The only surprise is that there are no real surprises. How often can you say that about an England selection for a major tournament?

[Arthur Crabtree]

Wood has been out for a bit so he's coming back in, but not really a surprise.

[bigfluffylemon]

Wood has been out for a bit so he's coming back in, but not really a surprise.

I agree it's not been a surprise, he's been a clear pick when fit.

[alfie]

No surprises means a short thread with no one complaining about anything

Only issue I have is - like AP - I am a little concerned about YJB not getting enough red ball cricket before the Tests - he might be doing a lot of sitting around / carrying drinks. But I think he is the logical spare batsman for the ODI team so there isn't a lot can be done about it.
Bowling options look fine as long as they're all match fit.

[hopeforthebest]

Rushing Wood back into the squad seems premature to me but it follows the ECB rules about risking players returning from injury ASAP.

[Arthur Crabtree]

It seems likely he'll always be a bit of a risk, given his frequent injuries.