Overton leads returning quartet for India Test series
Jamie Overton has returned to England's Test squad for the first time in three years for the series opener against India as Jacob Bethell, Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse also return.
Overton has been a regular in the white-ball set-up in recent times but won his solitary Test cap against New Zealand in 2022, taking two wickets and hitting an unexpected 97 with the bat.
It remains to be seen whether the allrounder will be fully fit to take the field at Headingley on June 20, having broken the little finger on his right hand during the recent ODIs against West Indies, but he has been given every chance to prove his fitness.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has said the 31-year-old will be "assessed and reviewed daily" by its medical team, who have already ruled Overton's Surrey teammate Gus Atkinson (hamstring) out of the match.
In his absence, England have further bolstered their pace bowling stocks with comebacks for fit-again pair Woakes and Carse.
Woakes, who faces the tourists with England Lions in Northampton over the next four days, could edge out Sam Cook, who retains his place after a quiet debut against Zimbabwe.
Carse, meanwhile, is in line for his first home cap after impressing over the winter in Pakistan and New Zealand.
A thornier selection dilemma concerns Bethell, the 21-year-old rising star who is back from IPL duty and placing pressure on the top three.
Bethell confirmed his status as an outstanding prospect with a highly-accomplished series against West Indies and has already shown an aptitude for the cut and thrust of the Test arena on the New Zealand tour.
Vice-captain Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley were both thought to be under pressure from his reintroduction but the pair reeled off matching hundreds against Zimbabwe and received glowing praise from skipper Ben Stokes in the aftermath.
ENGLAND SQUAD FOR FIRST TEST V INDIA IN LEEDS:
Ben Stokes (capt), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.
Jamie Overton has returned to England's Test squad for the first time in three years for the series opener against India as Jacob Bethell, Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse also return.
Overton has been a regular in the white-ball set-up in recent times but won his solitary Test cap against New Zealand in 2022, taking two wickets and hitting an unexpected 97 with the bat.
It remains to be seen whether the allrounder will be fully fit to take the field at Headingley on June 20, having broken the little finger on his right hand during the recent ODIs against West Indies, but he has been given every chance to prove his fitness.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has said the 31-year-old will be "assessed and reviewed daily" by its medical team, who have already ruled Overton's Surrey teammate Gus Atkinson (hamstring) out of the match.
In his absence, England have further bolstered their pace bowling stocks with comebacks for fit-again pair Woakes and Carse.
Woakes, who faces the tourists with England Lions in Northampton over the next four days, could edge out Sam Cook, who retains his place after a quiet debut against Zimbabwe.
Carse, meanwhile, is in line for his first home cap after impressing over the winter in Pakistan and New Zealand.
A thornier selection dilemma concerns Bethell, the 21-year-old rising star who is back from IPL duty and placing pressure on the top three.
Bethell confirmed his status as an outstanding prospect with a highly-accomplished series against West Indies and has already shown an aptitude for the cut and thrust of the Test arena on the New Zealand tour.
Vice-captain Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley were both thought to be under pressure from his reintroduction but the pair reeled off matching hundreds against Zimbabwe and received glowing praise from skipper Ben Stokes in the aftermath.
ENGLAND SQUAD FOR FIRST TEST V INDIA IN LEEDS:
Ben Stokes (capt), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.
Jamie Overton has returned to England's Test squad for the first time in three years for the series opener against India as Jacob Bethell, Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse also return.
Overton has been a regular in the white-ball set-up in recent times but won his solitary Test cap against New Zealand in 2022, taking two wickets and hitting an unexpected 97 with the bat.
It remains to be seen whether the allrounder will be fully fit to take the field at Headingley on June 20, having broken the little finger on his right hand during the recent ODIs against West Indies, but he has been given every chance to prove his fitness.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has said the 31-year-old will be "assessed and reviewed daily" by its medical team, who have already ruled Overton's Surrey teammate Gus Atkinson (hamstring) out of the match.
In his absence, England have further bolstered their pace bowling stocks with comebacks for fit-again pair Woakes and Carse.
Woakes, who faces the tourists with England Lions in Northampton over the next four days, could edge out Sam Cook, who retains his place after a quiet debut against Zimbabwe.
Carse, meanwhile, is in line for his first home cap after impressing over the winter in Pakistan and New Zealand.
A thornier selection dilemma concerns Bethell, the 21-year-old rising star who is back from IPL duty and placing pressure on the top three.
Bethell confirmed his status as an outstanding prospect with a highly-accomplished series against West Indies and has already shown an aptitude for the cut and thrust of the Test arena on the New Zealand tour.
Vice-captain Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley were both thought to be under pressure from his reintroduction but the pair reeled off matching hundreds against Zimbabwe and received glowing praise from skipper Ben Stokes in the aftermath.
ENGLAND SQUAD FOR FIRST TEST V INDIA IN LEEDS:
Ben Stokes (capt), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.
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"What's not to like about some of those wonderful clubs you could play against and some of those wonderful venues in the summer time as well? "I've seen the feedback over the last couple of weeks from various people ... and it was enormously positive. But we're focused now on this tour. "We haven't made any decisions to go in that direction yet." The British and Irish Lions have put Rugby Australia on notice, declaring the governing body will be breaking an agreement if they don't release Wallabies players to oppose them in tour games. After touching down in Perth on Sunday night, the Lions attended a Welcome to Country ceremony at Kings Park on Monday ahead of the highly-anticipated three-match Test series against Australia. The first Test will take place at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on July 19, but before that comes a concerted build-up for the tourists. More than 40,000 fans are expected to turn out to watch the Lions take on the Force at Optus Stadium on Saturday night. They will then play the Queensland Reds (July 2), the NSW Waratahs (July 5) and the ACT Brumbies (July 9) before facing a combined Australia and New Zealand outfit in Adelaide on July 12. The Force will unleash Wallabies squad members Nick Champion de Crespigny, Dylan Pietsch, Tom Robertson, Darcy Swain and Nic White against the Lions on Saturday. But complicating matters is the fact the Wallabies take on Fiji on July 6, meaning other Force squad members like Carlo Tizzano, Harry Potter, Jeremy Williams and Ben Donaldson are in camp with the Wallabies and will miss out on the first tour match against the Lions. Australian coach Joe Schmidt was initially keen to protect most of his squad from the tour games, but has since softened his stance somewhat. The Lions want Rugby Australia to make as many Wallabies players as possible available for the tour matches. "The agreement is very clear. It says that Test players have to be released to play in the fixtures leading into that Test series, and so that's our expectation," Lions chief executive Ben Calveley said on Monday. "I think it's really important that these games are competitive. "And it's not just from a performance standpoint. The players do want to test themselves, and they do want to build towards the Test series. "It's also right for the fans and for the broadcasters and the partners and so forth, who are all expecting competitive fixtures, and for the rugby-loving public here in Australia, "We'll play the game at the weekend, and we'll carry on having discussions with Rugby Australia, with (RA chief executive) Phil Waugh and the rest of the executive team." The Lions are licking their wounds following a shock 28-24 loss to Argentina in Dublin last week. Though stung by the defeat, it opened the conversation of whether Argentina or even France deserved to be included on the current rotation of Lions tours. Currently, the Lions only tour every four years, alternating between Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. "We remain open to having discussions about what the future for the Lions may hold, but those conversations are for another time," Calveley said. "You can certainly understand why people will get excited about that sort of a concept (a series in France). "What's not to like about some of those wonderful clubs you could play against and some of those wonderful venues in the summer time as well? "I've seen the feedback over the last couple of weeks from various people ... and it was enormously positive. But we're focused now on this tour. "We haven't made any decisions to go in that direction yet." The British and Irish Lions have put Rugby Australia on notice, declaring the governing body will be breaking an agreement if they don't release Wallabies players to oppose them in tour games. After touching down in Perth on Sunday night, the Lions attended a Welcome to Country ceremony at Kings Park on Monday ahead of the highly-anticipated three-match Test series against Australia. The first Test will take place at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on July 19, but before that comes a concerted build-up for the tourists. More than 40,000 fans are expected to turn out to watch the Lions take on the Force at Optus Stadium on Saturday night. They will then play the Queensland Reds (July 2), the NSW Waratahs (July 5) and the ACT Brumbies (July 9) before facing a combined Australia and New Zealand outfit in Adelaide on July 12. The Force will unleash Wallabies squad members Nick Champion de Crespigny, Dylan Pietsch, Tom Robertson, Darcy Swain and Nic White against the Lions on Saturday. But complicating matters is the fact the Wallabies take on Fiji on July 6, meaning other Force squad members like Carlo Tizzano, Harry Potter, Jeremy Williams and Ben Donaldson are in camp with the Wallabies and will miss out on the first tour match against the Lions. Australian coach Joe Schmidt was initially keen to protect most of his squad from the tour games, but has since softened his stance somewhat. The Lions want Rugby Australia to make as many Wallabies players as possible available for the tour matches. "The agreement is very clear. It says that Test players have to be released to play in the fixtures leading into that Test series, and so that's our expectation," Lions chief executive Ben Calveley said on Monday. "I think it's really important that these games are competitive. "And it's not just from a performance standpoint. The players do want to test themselves, and they do want to build towards the Test series. "It's also right for the fans and for the broadcasters and the partners and so forth, who are all expecting competitive fixtures, and for the rugby-loving public here in Australia, "We'll play the game at the weekend, and we'll carry on having discussions with Rugby Australia, with (RA chief executive) Phil Waugh and the rest of the executive team." The Lions are licking their wounds following a shock 28-24 loss to Argentina in Dublin last week. Though stung by the defeat, it opened the conversation of whether Argentina or even France deserved to be included on the current rotation of Lions tours. Currently, the Lions only tour every four years, alternating between Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. "We remain open to having discussions about what the future for the Lions may hold, but those conversations are for another time," Calveley said. "You can certainly understand why people will get excited about that sort of a concept (a series in France). 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Western Force lock Darcy Swain thankful for teammates and coaches in helping him earn Wallabies recall
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Perth Now
6 hours ago
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Rugby Australia warned: Release your Wallabies, or else
The British and Irish Lions have put Rugby Australia on notice, declaring the governing body will be breaking an agreement if they don't release Wallabies players to oppose them in tour games. After touching down in Perth on Sunday night, the Lions attended a Welcome to Country ceremony at Kings Park on Monday ahead of the highly-anticipated three-match Test series against Australia. The first Test will take place at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on July 19, but before that comes a concerted build-up for the tourists. More than 40,000 fans are expected to turn out to watch the Lions take on the Force at Optus Stadium on Saturday night. They will then play the Queensland Reds (July 2), the NSW Waratahs (July 5) and the ACT Brumbies (July 9) before facing a combined Australia and New Zealand outfit in Adelaide on July 12. The Force will unleash Wallabies squad members Nick Champion de Crespigny, Dylan Pietsch, Tom Robertson, Darcy Swain and Nic White against the Lions on Saturday. But complicating matters is the fact the Wallabies take on Fiji on July 6, meaning other Force squad members like Carlo Tizzano, Harry Potter, Jeremy Williams and Ben Donaldson are in camp with the Wallabies and will miss out on the first tour match against the Lions. Australian coach Joe Schmidt was initially keen to protect most of his squad from the tour games, but has since softened his stance somewhat. The Lions want Rugby Australia to make as many Wallabies players as possible available for the tour matches. "The agreement is very clear. It says that Test players have to be released to play in the fixtures leading into that Test series, and so that's our expectation," Lions chief executive Ben Calveley said on Monday. "I think it's really important that these games are competitive. "And it's not just from a performance standpoint. The players do want to test themselves, and they do want to build towards the Test series. "It's also right for the fans and for the broadcasters and the partners and so forth, who are all expecting competitive fixtures, and for the rugby-loving public here in Australia, "We'll play the game at the weekend, and we'll carry on having discussions with Rugby Australia, with (RA chief executive) Phil Waugh and the rest of the executive team." The Lions are licking their wounds following a shock 28-24 loss to Argentina in Dublin last week. Though stung by the defeat, it opened the conversation of whether Argentina or even France deserved to be included on the current rotation of Lions tours. Currently, the Lions only tour every four years, alternating between Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. "We remain open to having discussions about what the future for the Lions may hold, but those conversations are for another time," Calveley said. "You can certainly understand why people will get excited about that sort of a concept (a series in France). "What's not to like about some of those wonderful clubs you could play against and some of those wonderful venues in the summer time as well? "I've seen the feedback over the last couple of weeks from various people ... and it was enormously positive. But we're focused now on this tour. "We haven't made any decisions to go in that direction yet."
