Tom Hartley delivered an impressive performance in his first series of tests. Photo: Reuters/Adnan Abidi
Tom Hartley is ready to join the England team. at the Twenty20 World Cup in June, despite not having made a single appearance in that format to date.
The Lancashire left-arm spinner is yet to make his international T20 debut but has produced an impressive performance in his first Test series. taking 22 wickets at an average of 36.13 in five Tests in India. He also played two one-day internationals against Ireland last year.
While Adil Rashid remains England's main spinner, Hartley competes with Rehan Ahmed for second-spinner status and spin is likely to play a crucial role at the World Championships. After a fine ODI series in the Caribbean in December, Ahmed underperformed in the T20 series, conceding 10.9 per over.
While England were happy to pair Ahmed and Rashid as a tough pairing, Hartley could offer variety as an orthodox left-arm spinner. Conditions in the West Indies mean that all three specialist spinners could well be included in the England squad.
Rehan Ahmed (front left) and Adil Rashid (front right) played together in the T20 team. Photo: AFP/Randy Brooks
Left-arm spinners have made remarkable strides in T20 cricket in the Caribbean in recent years. England's group matches at the tournament will be played in Barbados and Antigua, while St Lucia and Barbados will be allocated to host the Super Eight stage if they qualify. Both Antigua and St. Lucia are known to promote rotation. Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago, the site of the two semi-finals, is particularly suitable for spin bowling.
The likelihood that the pitches will be used for multiple games during the World Cup may also be a reason to select a specialist finger spinner such as Hartley. While leg spin is invaluable on flatter pitches, finger spin, which tends to be more accurate and quick, can be even more effective on used wickets. During the final match of the England T20 series in the West Indies in Trinidad last year, Akhil Hosein and Gudakesh Moti, West Indies' left-arm spinners, returned combined figures of 5-44 from eight overs to guide the hosts to a series win. Ahmed's figures were disappointing: 0-36 after four overs.
Hartley has a solid record in his domestic T20 career, averaging 26.5 from 82 games with an economy rate of 8.5. He played some useful lower-order cameos in India's Test series and his prowess with the ball made him an attractive all-round option. The news that Nathan Lyon's stay in Lancashire has been cut to seven County Championship games from the original 14 means Hartley is expected to produce more first-class bowling this summer than previously thought.
The deadline is for all 20 games. The T20 World Cup participating countries will name their 15-man squads on May 1, ahead of the next T20 international match in England. England will then play a four-match T20 series at home against Pakistan starting on May 22, followed by their T20 World Cup defense against Scotland in Barbados on June 4.
Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott are England's Whites. The batting captain and head coach together led the team to victory in the 2022 T20 World Cup after defeating Pakistan in the final in Melbourne. But England won just three of their nine games at the ODI World Cup in India last year.
In an interview with Telegraph Sport last week, England managing director Rob Key expressed his determination that the team would have the trust of a new generation.
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«Now we need to get this team back to the stage where they see the opportunity to get new blood again, so we'll mix young players with older players,» he said.
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