Mills makes England’s T20 World Cup squad; no return for Stokes

England have recalled Tymal Mills to their squad for the T20 World Cup, but there will be no return for Ben Stokes as the allrounder continues his indefinite break from the game for mental health reasons.

Mills played the last of his four T20Is for England in 2017 but impressed during the Hundred for the eventual champions, Southern Brave, as well as helping Sussex to T20 Blast Finals Day. His 90mph pace and change-ups at the death will help compensate for the absence of Jofra Archer, who misses the tournament with an elbow problem.

The absence of Stokes has opened up space for Chris Woakes, who made a T20I comeback after more than five years earlier in the summer. Sam Curran and David Willey provide left-arm seam-bowling options, in support of Chris Jordan, England’s leading T20I wicket-taker, and Mark Wood.

As expected, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali were the frontline spin picks, supported by Liam Livingstone, whose remarkable rise this season included scoring a 42-ball hundred against Pakistan and finishing as the leading run-scorer in the Hundred. Sam Billings won the spare batter’s spot, with Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan all in contention at the top of the order as Eoin Morgan’s side look to become the first to hold the 50-over and 20-over World Cups simultaneously.

There was no room for Saqib Mahmood, despite his breakthrough in ODI cricket, Matt Parkinson or Tom Curran, although the latter was named as a travelling reserve alongside James Vince and Liam Dawson.

“We are excited about the prospect of challenging to win the ICC T20 World Cup,” England’s head coach, Chris Silverwood, said. “I believe we have selected a squad that covers all bases and has the depth to be successful in what is expected to be a very competitive tournament featuring the best players in the world.

“Tymal Mills deserves his inclusion and has demonstrated over the past couple of years, but particularly this summer that he has all skills to succeed at this level. His exceptional pace is a standout, and the way he has spearheaded Sussex and Southern Brave’s respective attacks in the short-form game has shown that he relishes the pressures of the big stage. He will add variety to our bowling unit, and we can’t wait to see him play in a major international tournament.”

England, beaten finalists at the 2016 World T20, are currently the No. 1-ranked side in T20Is, having won nine of their last 11 bilateral series. They are scheduled to play two T20Is against Pakistan next month as part of their preparations for the tournament, with their first game in the UAE coming against West Indies on October 23. (ESPNcricinfo) 

England T20 World Cup squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Travelling reserves: Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, James Vince