Laurie Evans and Phil Salt named in England's ODI training group

Sussex's Laurie Evans and Phil Salt have been named in England's 'behind-closed-doors training group' ahead of the Royal London Series against Ireland, which starts on Thursday 30 July.

The 24-strong group, along with a separate white-ball management team, will live, prepare and train on-site at the Ageas Bowl from Thursday 16 July. Two intra-group warm-up matches will take place on 21 July and 24 July.  A final England squad for the Ireland series, plus a number of reserves, will be named at a later date.

Behind-Closed-Doors ODI Training Group
 
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) captain, Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Sam Billings (Kent), Henry Brookes (Warwickshire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Tom Curran (Surrey), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Laurie Evans (Sussex), Richard Gleeson (Lancashire), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Tom Helm (Middlesex), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Matthew Parkinson (Lancashire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Sussex), Reece Topley (Surrey), James Vince (Hampshire), David Willey (Yorkshire).

Chris Jordan was not considered for selection due to an arm injury, while Worcestershire’s Pat Brown (back) and Yorkshire’s Dawid Malan (right calf) also miss out because of fitness issues.

Commenting on the selection of the group, National Selector Ed Smith, said: “Even with several multi-format players unavailable for the Ireland ODIs due to their Test commitments, there is real depth to England’s white ball playing talent. 

“Again, everyone at England cricket would like to thank all the county coaches and support staff who have helped these players in the lead up to the behind-closed-doors training camp.

“We now look forward to hosting Ireland and continuing to develop our white ball strength in depth.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board have also confirmed the white-ball coaching team for the Royal London Series.

England Assistant Coach Paul Collingwood will assume the Head Coach role for the three-match series. He will be supported by Marcus Trescothick as batting coach, who has been seconded from Somerset. England Young Lions Coach Jon Lewis will be the Pace Bowling Coach and is supported by Neil Killeen from Durham. 

Former Durham Head Coach and former Sri Lanka Batting Coach Jon Lewis will join the coaching set-up as Batting Coach working alongside Trescothick. Former South African left-arm spinner Claude Henderson has been appointed Spin Bowling Coach and former Essex wicketkeeper James Foster will take responsibility for the wicketkeepers.  
 
ECB Performance Director, Mo Bobat, added: “As was the case with our Test preparations, the support that we have received from counties during our ODI return to training phase has been fantastic.  

"Running concurrent training programmes across formats for a large pool of players has been a novel challenge and we are very appreciative of the commitment that counties have shown towards the national cause, particularly as they have been managing their own return to training.
 
“Paul’s (Collingwood) coaching team has an exciting feel to it with a number of the coaches possessing rich international experience.  Marcus (Trescothick) spent time with our England white-ball squads during the winter and Jon (Lewis) brings with him World Cup experience from his stint as Sri Lanka’s batting coach.  

"Similarly, Claude (Henderson) has recently worked with the South African national team and brings real spin bowling expertise.  From a pace bowling perspective, our players will be in safe hands with both Jon (Lewis) and Neil (Killeen), who over the years have fulfilled a number of important roles within our international pathway, working with many of the players in our senior sides today.  

"James (Foster) completes the set and with his extensive experience of franchise competitions, will add significant value.
 
“We’re grateful where counties have released their coaches to join us behind closed doors and with Test cricket now underway, we’re all looking forward to progressing our preparations for the return of ODI cricket.”

Royal London Series

1st ODI v Ireland: Thursday 30 July at The Ageas Bowl (2.00pm start D/N)
2nd ODI v Ireland: Saturday 1 August at The Ageas Bowl (2.00pm D/N)
3rd ODI v Ireland: Tuesday 4 August at The Ageas Bowl (2.00pm D/N)