Mott hints Harry Brook could still be picked for England’s World Cup squad

Matthew Mott has hinted that Harry Brook could yet be named in England’s 50-over World Cup squad, rowing back on the suggestion that the party named for the forthcoming one-day international series against New Zealand will also be the final 15 submitted to the International Cricket Council on 28 September. “There’s a lot to play out before we pick that first XI in India and we’ve always said it’s a provisional squad,” said England’s white-ball coach. “Everyone will get a really good opportunity to show what they’ve got.”

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Mott said those featuring in the four ODIs against the Black Caps, starting on Friday in Cardiff, “have the first crack at it”, but emphasised that the squad is not finalised. “We’ll just monitor and see how players are going and make some fine-tuning if needs be,” he said.

“There’s a lot of cricket before we play that first World Cup game. There are plenty of opportunities for players to put their hand up.”

Mott described Brook as “a gun player” who “I believe is going to be one of the best players in his generation”.

The 24-year-old scored just four runs in the final T20 between England and New Zealand at Trent Bridgeon Tuesday night, but after scoring the only century of this year’s men’s Hundred in his final appearance for Northern Superchargers he had started the series with an unbeaten 43 at Chester-le-Street and 67 at Old Trafford.

“What you want to see from players when they miss out on a squad is you want them to come out and slam that door down,” Mott said. “I thought at the start of this series, and with his hundred in the Hundred, he made a real statement. It is still open for debate and there will be plenty of cricket played in the next month, so we’ll see what that squad ends up looking like.”