England ODI team for Ireland series: Reece Topley and David Willey handed comebacks in 14-man squad

England ODI team for Ireland series: England have handed comebacks to as many as five players for the imminent series.

England have handed comebacks to fast bowling pair of Reece Topley and David Willey for the imminent three-match ODI series against Ireland starting from July 30.

Having opened the bowling for England in 2015-16, Topley and Willey might get to do the same yet again at the Ageas Bowl in the days to come. Topley, 26, played the last of his 16 white-ball internationals during the ICC World Twenty20 2016 in Mumbai before succumbing to a back injury.

Wonderful comeback from Reece Topley, who is back in the England squad. 2 years tomorrow he underwent back surgery. He’s had 5 stress fractures and it’s 4 years since he represented England. To come back from that… well, it’s pretty incredible, really. Aldaniti territory.

— George Dobell (@GeorgeDobell1) July 27, 2020

Willey, on the other hand, played limited-overs cricket at the highest level till as recent as last year. The left-arm seamer was then unceremoniously axed from England’s 2019 World Cup squad to accommodate Jofra Archer.

Apart from this duo, batsman James Vince, wicket-keeper batsman Sam Billings and all-rounder Liam Dawson have also been included into the ODI series. Playing for England Lions against Ireland yesterday, Vince (66 retired not out) and Billings (54*) scored individual half-centuries while Dawson registered bowling figures of 10-0-49-1.

England ODI team for Ireland series

England were largely expected to bring back aforementioned names to ensure two totally different squads took part in the ongoing Test series against West Indies and the ODIs against Ireland.

England had earlier named a 24-member training group who were practicing inside a bio-secure bubble in Southampton. The 14-member squad has been announced on the back of conducting two intra-squad matches.

ALSO READ: Moeen Ali named England ODI vice-captain

Other than the 14 players, uncapped players in Richard Gleeson, Lewis Gregory and Liam Livingstone have also been included as reserves as a precautionary measure of playing in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

England ODI squad – Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Joe Denly, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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