James Vince has been called up to England’s one-day squad for the deciding match against India at Headingley with Dawid Malan released to take up his place in the Lions side, to face India A in a four-day match at New Road, ahead of the Test series against India next month.
Sam Curran, the Surrey allrounder, has also been let go from the one-day side to face India A which he was originally selected for. He made his debut against Pakistan at Headingley and further opportunity could arise when Ben Stokes is unavailable because of his trial in Bristol which starts the day after the first Test is due to finish.
Malan is likely to feature in the middle order although he is under some pressure after two lean Tests against Pakistan where he made 46 runs in three innings. Since that series finished in early June, Malan has only played five matches – all for Middlesex – and his last four innings across various formats have been 0, 0, 2 and 0 including a pair in the pink-ball Championship match against Kent.
He had been called into the one-day squad on the day of the first match after Alex Hales injured his side. After the England Lions game he has a Championship fixture against Warwickshire – there is a round of matches shoe-horned in amid the ongoing T20 Blast – before the Test series against India begins on August 1.
As was the case with Malan, Vince won’t feature unless there is an injury to one of England’s top order ahead of the match on Tuesday but his call-up is acknowledgment for an impressive Royal London Cup campaign where he made 527 runs and captained Hampshire to the title.
Vince, who lost his Test place at the start of the season, played the last of his five ODIs back in 2016 on the tour of Bangladesh when Hales and Eoin Morgan both opted out of the trip due to security concerns.
He has been selected ahead of Sam Billings, who has been a regular part of the one-day squad but made precious few appearances. He was left out after the series against Australia and said there had been discussions between him and national selector Ed Smith that it was better to get a run of matches for Kent rather than carry the drinks for England. Billings has since found some form with 75 in the Royal London final and a T20 career-best of 95 not out, both against Vince’s Hampshire.
There remains the possibility that there is one batting berth up for grabs in England’s World Cup squad next year with Billings, Vince and Malan perhaps in a three-way tussle.
Surrey’s Rory Burns will captain England Lions against India A – a side that will also feature Alastair Cook and Chris Woakes – with a chance to further press his claims for Test selection. He is the leading run-scorer across all Championship cricket with 722 runs at 65.63 and could be the next man in line for a chance at the top of the order if another change is needed.
Keaton Jennings was recalled in place of Mark Stoneman for the second Test against Pakistan, so will likely start the series against India, but Burns is breathing down his neck along with Nick Gubbins who is also part of the Lions side.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo