England leave Hales out of ODI squad for West Indies tour

(Photo: Getty Images)

By Harvey Burgess

England have named their 14-man squad for the upcoming ODI series against West Indies, with Alex Hales the most notable omission.

The right-handed opener recently suffered a fractured hand during the ODI series in India and will continue to recover in England. The injury forced Hales to fly home early from the tour, where he had scored just 23 runs in two innings.

The National Selector, James Whitaker, said: “We felt it was important to keep faith with the squad that competed during the recent tour of India.”

England therefore have the same 14-man squad as they did for the final ODI against India, which the touring side won by 5 wickets.

Hales, along with captain Eoin Morgan, missed the tour of Bangladesh last year because of concerns over security, however England have since insisted that this decision has not affected his position.

However, his form with the bat and the emergence of Sam Billings means that the Nottinghamshire batsman is no longer guaranteed a place in the squad.

Billings took Hales’ place for that match and put in an impressive performance, which he continued in England’s T20 victory yesterday.

Whitaker added: “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.”

Before the ODI series gets underway, England will warm up with two matches against a West Indies Cricket Board XI. Can England get their tour underway with victory? Check out the WICB XI v England XI betting odds and have your say.

Fixtures: 

1st ODI, 3 March, Antigua.

2nd ODI, 5 March, Antigua.

3rd ODI, 9 March, Barbados.

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)