Warwickshire's Sam Hain receives first international call-up
Warwickshire batsman Sam Hain has received a first England call-up for the forthcoming one-day international series against Ireland.
Hain, for some time considered among the best uncapped players on the county circuit, has been included in a 13-strong group for the three-match series which begins at Headingley on September 20.
The 28-year-old averages more than 70 in List A cricket and this summer passed the 13,000-run mark across all formats. He has previously scored 784 runs, at an average of 46.11, in 20 appearances for England Lions.
Ashes hero Zak Crawley will captain the squad, which also features Ben Duckett and Harry Brook but none of the players named in England’s provisional World Cup squad last month.
Crawley has only played three ODIs – all coming two years ago as a Covid outbreak forced England to pull together a scratch side – but his fearless strokeplay in the red-ball arena has long marked him out as a limited-overs prospect.
The likes of Phil Salt, Matthew Potts and Craig Overton also get the nod to take on the Irish, with England exploring their bench strength at the end of a busy international summer.
Brook has also been added to the England squad which will face New Zealand in a four-match series which begins tomorrow in Cardiff.
His hopes of making next month’s tournament plummeted when he was surprisingly omitted from the original 15-man squad, but England’s resolve has been tested ever since that selection was made public.
With Brook offering several timely reminders of his quality, first with a blistering century in The Hundred, then with two dashing T20 knocks against the Black Caps, there has been a growing clamour for a rethink before the September 28 deadline.
Now he has been drafted as batting cover for the four-match series, which begins in Cardiff on Friday, giving him a potential opportunity to nail down a spot in India.
Dawid Malan is considered the most vulnerable of the specialist batters, the form of all-rounder Liam Livingstone has started to come under scrutiny and England are also being cautious over Jonny Bairstow’s fitness.
He experienced pain in his right shoulder while batting in Tuesday’s final T20 against New Zealand and did not emerge to keep wicket at Trent Bridge.
Although the issue is not thought be a serious concern, it offers another reason for Brook to remain with the group should extra batting be required.
Despite his fast-growing reputation across all formats, Brook has just three ODI caps.
Squad: Zak Crawley (Kent, captain), Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire, vice-captain), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Will Jacks (Surrey), Craig Overton (Somerset), Matthew Potts (Durham), Phil Salt (Lancashire), George Scrimshaw (Derbyshire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Luke Wood (Lancashire).
