Jofra Archer named in England's provisional T20 World Cup squad; defending champions 9/2 to retain trophy

Jofra Archer is the headline inclusion after England announced their 15-man provisional squad for the T20 World Cup in June.

The 29-year-old, who has not played a competitive game in any format since last May, will feature in the four-match T20I series against Pakistan with the view to participating in the World Cup, which starts on June 1 in the West Indies and the United States.

Archer has been troubled by injury since sustaining a stress fracture in his right elbow in January 2020 and his return against Bangladesh last year proved to be a false dawn.

The fast bowler's availability is a massive boost for England, who are 9/2 to defend the title they won in Australia in 2022.

Archer will be joined by Chris Jordan in England's bowling attack, whose presence on the international stage has diminished since his death bowling debacle in the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.

The last of Jordan's 88 T20I caps came in September 2023, but his experience and ability to score lower down the order have prompted a recall from Matthew Mott.

Jordan's inclusion is at the expense of Chris Woakes, who has been an ever-present in the shorter formats for England and was an integral member of the 2022 T20 World Cup success.

Dawid Malan, another member of the squad that was triumphant Down Under, has been omitted and Test opener Ben Duckett features instead.

It's been a fine year for Tom Hartley with the Lancashire spinner set to make his World Cup debut, just several months after making his maiden England Test bow in the five-match series against India. Will Jacks, who scored a 41-ball century for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL, provides England with depth in the spin department and batting order.

All of the players that are currently involved in the Indian Premier League - including Jonny Bairstow, Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone - will miss the tournament's play-offs as they return in time for England's series against Pakistan.

The group will then fly out to the Caribbean ahead of their opening encounter against Scotland in Barbados on June 4.

England can make unlimited changes to their squad until May 25, the deadline for submitting a final selection.

England's provisional T20 World Cup squad

• Jos Buttler (c)
• Moeen Ali (vc)
• Jofra Archer
• Jonny Bairstow
• Harry Brook
• Sam Curran
• Ben Duckett
• Tom Hartley
• Will Jacks
• Chris Jordan
• Liam Livingstone
• Adil Rashid
• Phil Salt
• Reece Topley
• Mark Wood

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