England have selected an entirely new squad for their limited-overs series against Pakistan, after three players and four staff members tested positive for COVID-19.
Two days before the series gets underway with the first of the three one-dayers in Cardiff, Ben Stokes has been named captain of an 18-man squad that includes nine uncapped players.
Seven unidentified members of the England party have tested positive in Bristol, one day after the rain-ruined final match of a one-day series against Sri Lanka.
"Those impacted will now observe a period of self-isolation from July 4, following the UK Government's protocol on quarantine," says the England & Wales Cricket Board.
"The remaining members of the party have been deemed close contacts and will also isolate."
England are due to face Pakistan in three ODIs and three Twenty20 matches.
All-rounder Stokes has been out of international cricket, since injuring his finger at the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year.
Head coach Chris Silverwood, who had been due to take some time away during the white-ball series, will manage the side.
"Overnight, we have worked swiftly to identify a new squad and we are grateful to Ben Stokes, who will return to England duties to captain," ECB chief executive Tom Harrison says.
"We also recognise the impact this news will have on our first class counties and their men's playing squads, and thank them... for their ongoing support in dealing with this pandemic."
ISOLATING PLAYERS
The ECB hopes some of the isolating players would be available to play the Twenty20 matches against Pakistan, scheduled on July 16, 18 and 20.
"We're in unprecedented territory, in terms of replacing an entire squad and management team, and I'm very proud of how everyone has come together in order to get it done," says England men's cricket managing director Ashley Giles.
"Ben hasn't captained our ODI side before, so it's a huge honour for him. We all wish him well and it's a role I'm sure he'll thrive in."
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is satisfied with the assurances from the ECB and "comfortable with the existing protocols" to ensure the safety of their touring party.
"The PCB has also been in touch with its team management and has advised them to exercise extra caution while in the hotel or at the match venue," it says.
Sri Lanka sent three of their players home from England last month, after a video on social media showed them outside the designated team hotel in Durham in a breach of bio-bubble protocols.
England batsman Alex Hales was removed from the 2019 World Cup-winning squad for recreational drug use and has not played for his country since, and was not selected in the new squad.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan says Hales would probably not play international cricket again.
"That must be the end of his international career then," Vaughan tweets. "Find it very sad that someone who made a huge mistake, but was punished can't be given another go."
England: Ben Stokes (captain), Jake Ball, Danny Briggs, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Phil Salt, John Simpson, James Vince
Reuters
