Harry Brook has been called up to the England squad for the last series before the World Cup in October.
England take on New Zealand in four one-day internationals in preparation for the main event, which begins on October 5 in Ahmedebad, India.
Brook was not originally in the squad for either the World Cup or the key games against New Zealand but has been added as a batsman’s deputy and will join the 17-man squad at Sophia Gardens ahead of the first game in Cardiff on Friday 8 September.
However, there’s still a chance he might end up on the plane to India as the deadline for submitting the final 15-man squad isn’t until September 28 and there have been doubts about the form of Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone lately gave .
Since joining the Test squad for the injured Jonny Bairstow in September 2022, Brook has impressed at every turn. He was the leading scorer on this winter’s tour of Pakistan, landed his first Indian Premier League contract and cemented his place in the English side.
Questions were initially raised when Brook was not in the original World Cup squad, and arguably he would have been had Ben Stokes not made a surprise return and been eliminated for the sport’s biggest tournament.
Brook has had just three one-day caps for England, with a high score of 80 and an average of 28.66, but will be an additional option for white ball coach Matthew Mott.
England have a one-day series against Ireland after the World Cup contenders left for India, which is being spearheaded by Test opener Zak Crawley.
It is his first time captaining England and he will be joined by vice-captain and opening partner Ben Duckett.
England’s 13-man squad against Ireland features three debutants: Sam Hain, Jamie Smith and George Scrimshaw.
With the matches against Ireland taking place to coincide with the conclusion of the County Championship season, the ECB said counties were consulted on their own ambitions before finalizing the squad.
