Joe Root to feature in first ODI against Ireland

Joe Root has been added to the England squad for the first One-Day International against Ireland after he himself “asked to be involved” to find some form in the 50-over format prior to the World Cup. 

The 13-man squad England announced for the three-match series had no World Cup-bound players. But the defending champions, on Sunday, included Harry Brook in the finalised World Cup squad at the expense of Jason Roy. As a result, Brook has now been rested for the Ireland series after a busy summer.

Talking about Root, the right-hander didn’t have a great series against New Zealand. He managed just 10 runs in his first three innings before scoring a scratchy 40-ball 29 in the fourth and final ODI. “Like for a lot of people, he is getting that rhythm of 50-over cricket,” said Luke Wright, England's national selector.

“Obviously we don't play (much of) it in this country, but a lot of those lads haven't played a lot of 50-over cricket, especially someone like Joe. He just wanted a bit more time. It's a great thing for someone to still have that desire to keep wanting to do more and more. 

“It shows where he's at with his game and what makes him such a world-class player that, when he doesn't feel quite right, he still wants to tinker and do more. As much as we probably thought he needed a break as well, he just wanted another go."

Meanwhile, Brook himself didn’t quite set the stage on fire. The young batter managed scores of 25, 2 and 10 against New Zealand but Wright said his form throughout the summer was superb and that was enough to convince them to have him in the World Cup set-up.

“You only have to look at what he's had on this summer. He's had one of the busiest summers out of everyone from the Ashes, into the Hundred and then these series,” said Wright.

"It would be silly of us to not give him a break. You always have to look at how much more batting does someone need versus what mental break do they need. I think in this case, we wanted to give him that break before the World Cup so he's going to rest for that Ireland series."

Wright also suggested that Roy could feature in the Ireland series, if the opener feels like it. “We've given Jason the option of being involved and he still has the option. He wasn't expected to be in that Ireland squad and then to get the news that he was missing out on the World Cup came as a bit of a hammer blow, so we've left that with Jason…. We'll work on that one over the next few days." 

The Zak Crawley-led side will play the first ODI on Wednesday (September 20). Meanwhile, the last two ODIs will be played on September 23 and 26 respectively.