Cricket: England revise squad overnight after Covid-19 cases emerge; nine uncapped players added

The England and Wales Board (ECB) have announced their revised squad for the ODI series with Pakistan after seven members, three cricketers and four management staff members, had tested positive for coronavirus. 

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Nine uncapped players have been added to the revised squad and Ben Stokes has been named the captain of the side. 

The uncapped contingent consists of Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Lewis Gregory, Will Jacks, Tom Helm, Dan Lawrence, David Payne, Phil Salt and John Simpson, although Crawley, Gregory and Lawrence have represented England in other formats.

"Ben Stokes will return to England duties and captain the squad – which will be named in the next few hours. Incoming squad and support team members will follow PCR tests and bridging protocols to ensure safe entry to camp," said ECB.

Tom Harrison, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "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. 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 also added that the board worked overnight to revise the squad in order to go ahead with the series as planned. 

"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. We also recognise the impact this news will have on our First Class Counties and their Men’s playing squads and thank them, along with our partners Sky and Royal London, for their ongoing support in dealing with this pandemic."

England squad: 

Ben Stokes (Captain), 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