LONDON (Reuters) – Test and one-day captain Andrew Strauss has been left out of England’s preliminary 30-man squad for the Twenty20 World Cup in June, which was announced at Lord’s yesterday.
England will host the tournament from June 5-21.
England national selector Geoff Miller said in a statement: “Andrew Strauss had an outstanding tour of the West Indies during a difficult winter. Andrew and the selectors believe his game is better suited to test and ODI cricket and it is for that reason he has not been selected in the squad.”
The selectors will name the England Twenty20 captain once a comprehensive review of the recently concluded West Indies tour has taken place.
Strauss took over the test and one-day captaincy from Kevin Pietersen in January despite not playing any one-day internationals for almost two years.
However, he was an impressive performer with the bat in the recent 3-2 one-day series win over West Indies, when he was named player of the series, and was expected to keep the role for the Twenty20 tournament.
Pietersen has said he does not want the job, leaving Robert Key and Dimitri Mascarenhas among the leading contenders.
The 30-man squad, which will be trimmed to 15 on May 1, contains four players yet to be capped at international level — Joe Denly (Kent), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Graham Napier (Essex) and Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) and Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).
Morgan previously played one-dayers for Ireland. Also in are spinner Shaun Udal, who turned 40 last month, and all-rounder Samit Patel, who was left out of the Twenty20 and one-day matches in the West Indies after “failing to reach acceptable standards of fitness.”
“We have an encouraging blend of experience and youth in this preliminary squad, including a number of uncapped players who will be eager to make their international debut at home during what promises to be an fantastic tournament in June,” said Miller.
