ICC World Cup 2023 | England add Harry Brook to 15-man squad following Jason Roy's struggles with back spasms
The England cricket team announced on Sunday that Jason Roy will not be travelling with the squad to India with a poor stretch of form and recurring injuries keeping him on the sidelines. The opener was replaced in the 15-man list by youngster Harry Brook who has featured in just six ODIs so far.
Jason Roy was supposed to feature in the recently concluded four-game ODI series against New Zealand but failed to feature in any of the games due to back spasms at the last moment. Notably, Harry Brook was not a part of the squad that took on New Zealand but was added at the last moment and ended up playing three of those games, opening in two of those duels. Despite not managing to go past 25 in any of those assignments, the 22-year-old has received the nod ahead for the upcoming marquee event which would be his first major ODI tournament in national colours.
"We have selected a squad we are confident can go to India and win the World Cup. We are blessed with an incredibly strong group of white-ball players which was underlined by the performances in the series win against a very good New Zealand team," Luke Wright, England's national selector, was quoted saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
Roy was an integral part of the England side that won the previous edition of World Cup on home soil by defeating New Zealand in the final. The opener was assigned the groundbreaking role of going on the attack from ball one and carried out his duties with aplomb, averaging over 40 while striking at 105-plus in the cycle, including a match-winning 85 in the semi-final against Australia. However, the veteran's average has dropped by over 10 runs and the strike rate has also sneaked under 100 in the games since. Notably, no other England player has played as many ODIs as Roy's 31 in the four-year period under discussion.
"The strength of the group has meant that we have had to make some tough decisions on world-class players with Jason Roy missing out and Harry Brook coming into the squad," he added.
The other batter in contention for the final spot in the squad alongside Brook and Roy was understood to be Dawid Malan but the batter seemingly sealed his spot in the XI with scores of 26, 54, 96 and 127 against New Zealand. The 36-year-old now looks set to open alongside Jonny Bairstow as England aim to defend their crown starting October 5 in a replay of the 2019 final at Ahmedabad.