ENG vs PAK: England announce new management group for ODI series

Following the seven members of England’s ODI setup testing Covid-19 positive, England has had to name a new management group for the upcoming ODI series against Pakistan. While Head Coach Chris Silverwood will accompany the team, ECB has named assistant coaches in Anthony McGrath and Jonathan Trott (both batting), Alan Richardson (pace bowling), and Jeetan Patel (spin bowling).

The development comes hours after the board was forced to name a fresh 18-man squad after seven members – three players and four support staff members – returned a positive test for Covid-19. ECB confirmed that all members were immediately isolated following the protocols laid by the UK government, while they called Ben Stokes to lead the side in Eoin Morgan’s absence.

“We have been mindful that the emergence of the Delta variant, along with our move away from the stringent enforcement of bio-secure environments, could increase the chances of an outbreak,” Tom Harrison, the ECB Chief Executive Officer, was quoted as saying by ECB.co.uk earlier today.

“We made a strategic choice to try to adapt protocols, in order to support the overall wellbeing of our players and management staff who have spent much of the last 14 months living in very restricted conditions,” he added.

PCB extends support to ECB 

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board in an official release extended support to the ECB, stating that they are satisfied and comfortable with the precautions put in place by the hosts to ensure the security of the visitors.

“The PCB is satisfied by the assurances and guarantees provided by the ECB on behalf of its medical panel, and feels comfortable with the existing protocols that have been put in place to ensure all the Pakistan players and player support staff remain safe and secure throughout the duration of the series.”

The series gets underway on July 8 in Cardiff, with subsequent ODIs to be played on July 10 and 13 at Lord’s and Birmingham, respectively. The 50-over series will be followed by three T20Is, scheduled between July 16 to 20.

England revised squad for ODIs: Ben Stokes, Jake Ball, Danny Briggs, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Daniel Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Phil Salt, John Simpson, James Vince