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England T20 World Cup squad: The 15-man line-up in full with Stokes and Sam Curran left out

Left-arm seamer and pinch-hitting batsman Curran had been on duty for the Chennai Super Kings when he complained of back pain

Sam Curran has been replaced by his brother Tom in England’s T20 World Cup squad after the younger Curran suffered a back injury playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Reece Topley will join Curran in the Middle East after being brought in as a travelling reserve.

England had earlier recalled Tymal Mills for the first time in more than four years.

Mills is part of a 15-man party for the tournament in the United Arab Emirates but, as expected, Ben Stokes has not been selected as the all-rounder continues to take time away from cricket to prioritise his mental well-being and recover from finger surgery, though he has declared himself ready for the Ashes.

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Eoin Morgan’s team are also missing the injured fast bowler Jofra Archer as they bid to become the first country ever to hold both the 50-over and Twenty20 world titles.

Mills is not a like-for-like replacement for Archer but his left-arm angle and ability to bowl in excess of 90 miles per hour make him a valuable asset.

The 29-year-old has been beset by injury problems, mostly involving his back, since he last played international cricket during England’s T20 series in India at the start of 2017 and now specialises only in white-ball cricket.

However, he proved his fitness this summer as he played a key role in Southern Brave winning the inaugural edition of the men’s Hundred last month.

There are few surprises in England’s squad as they seek to win a tournament in which they were losing finalists the last time it was played in India in 2016.

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England start their tournament against the West Indies in Dubai on 23 October and will be in a group with Australia, South Africa and two qualifiers.

Tom Curran, despite being a key part of England’s T20 team over the past four years, had initially only been named among the three reserves, along with spinner Liam Dawson, while there was no place at all for Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson at all. Liam Livingstone, the all-rounder who has been the breakout star of England’s white-ball summer, is the only other spin option in the 15-man squad apart from mainstays Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.

Coach Chris Silverwood said: “We are excited about the prospect of challenging to win the T20 World Cup. I believe we have selected a squad that covers all bases and has the depth to be successful in what is expected to be a very competitive tournament.

“Tymal Mills deserves his inclusion and has demonstrated over the past couple of years, but particularly this summer, that he has all skills to succeed at this level.

“His exceptional pace is a standout, and the way he has spearheaded Sussex and Southern Brave’s respective attacks in the short-form game has shown that he relishes the pressures of the big stage. He will add variety to our bowling unit, and we can’t wait to see him play in a major international tournament.”

England’s preliminary squad

  • Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) Captain
  • Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
  • Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire)
  • Sam Billings (Kent)
  • Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
  • Tom Curran (Surrey)
  • Chris Jordan (Surrey)
  • Liam Livingstone (Lancashire)
  • Dawid Malan (Yorkshire)
  • Tymal Mills (Sussex)
  • Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
  • Jason Roy (Surrey)
  • David Willey (Yorkshire)
  • Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
  • Mark Wood (Durham)

Travelling Reserves

  • Reece Topley (Surrey)
  • Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
  • James Vince (Hampshire)

Mills ‘never gave up’ on England

By Richard Edwards

For a man reowned for his ability to ping a ball around batsmen’s ears at over 90mph, Tymal Mills’ journey back to England’s Twenty side has been an uncharacteristically slow one. 

Mills made his most recent international appearance against India back in February 2017 but after being called up for the T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman next month, he has a hundred reasons to be grateful for the ECB’s new flagship white ball tournament. 

The 29-year-old was sensational for the Southern Brave in the inaugural season of the Hundred and those performances, combined with his efforts in the T20 Blast, have earned him a recall that at various periods in the past four years appeared exceedingly unlikely. 

“I’d never given up on England, I always thought I was good enough, I just had issues staying fit for a long period of time,” he says. “I always had aspirations to get back because I’ve always wanted to play at the highest level I can, whether that’s in franchise cricket or internationally. 

“For me, it was just a case of staying fit to get my name and my performances consistently out there.  

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“Obviously, you can’t ignore the impact of the Hundred, with every game being televised. I saw that as a massive opportunity to show that I should be in consideration.”  

Mills’ death bowling for the Brave – who beat the Birmingham Pheonix in the final at Lords last month – was one of the primary reasons why the Hampshire-based franchise won the competition. 

In that match he went for just 13 runs off his 20 balls. In the eliminator he was similarly parsimonious, going for eight off 16 balls, while also taking three wickets. It’s the sort of form that has clearly proved impossible to ignore.  

“With it being shorter overs, you can really build momentum,” he says. “If it’s only five balls and the first couple go well then you get out of that over a bit quicker – you can build pressure a bit more easily. Likewise, if you’re having a bad over there’s one less delivery that can be hit for a boundary.”  

In an era when many bowlers spend most of their time craning their necks to see which row the ball has disappeared to in the stands, that’s a win-win. 

Not that Mills has had to do a lot of that. Particularly at the death, where his variations and thunderbolts have proved almost impossible to get away.  

“I would probably consider myself a defensive bowler, I’m someone who prioritises economy rate over wickets,” he says. “There has been a lot of talk about how I bowl at the death, CricViz has pointed out how many short balls I bowl and how I don’t target the stumps an awful lot – although I’m starting to, I’ve bowled a lot more yorkers this year and it’s something I’m practising.  

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“Previously I wouldn’t bowl many yorkers because, for me, the risk-reward wasn’t quite there, I wasn’t as confident that I was going to execute it. If you don’t execute it then there’s a fair chance at the top level that you’re going to disappear for six.

“There are different phases of the innings and you need to be able to adapt to that – but, if anything, I’m more of a defensive bowler than an attacking bowler, even though I can bowl 90mph.”  

Breaking into this England white ball side in either T20 or 50 over cricket is no mean feat. Mills and Liam Livingstone – Lancashire’s mighty hitter, who also happens to possess the handy skill of bowling both off-breaks and leg-breaks – are two of very few who have managed to do it in the past few years. 

After so long on the outside looking in, Mills will be in a rush to make up for lost time. Those batsmen he comes up against can expect a similar hurry-up too.    

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