England name squad for World Cup

Geraint Jones, Darren Gough and Marcus Trescothick were the major omissions when England announced a provisional 30-man World Cup squad on Saturday.

Ian Blackwell was also left out of the party, which is due to be reduced by half on 15 February.

Left-arm spinner Ashley Giles, who left the Australian tour early because of the health of his wife, is included.

And the squad includes four uncapped players - Amjad Khan, Mal Loye, Graham Onions and Ravi Bopara.

Wicket-keeper Jones, who began the Ashes series as England's first choice, has slipped completely out of contention, with Paul Nixon, Chris Read and Matt Prior all picked ahead of him.

Trescothick has not been mentioned by the selectors since leaving the Ashes tour before the first Test because of a stress-related illness

He is the only England batsman to have hit a one-day international century in the last year.

"I live near Marcus in Bristol and have been monitoring his recovery," chairman of selectors David Graveney said. "We decided not to consider him for World Cup selection."

"We are not prepared to select players that we anticipate will not reach a satisfactory level of fitness"

Selector David Graveney

Essex fast bowler Gough was selected for the one-day series against Pakistan last September - but he played just twice before a shin injury sidelined him.

Somerset all-rounder Blackwell missed nearly the whole of last season following a shoulder operation.

All players under consideration but not in Australia with the current squad underwent fitness checks at the Loughborough academy in the past fortnight.

"Darren Gough, Ian Blackwell and [Yorkshire seamer] Tim Bresnan were not selected because they have not been able to prove that their fitness will be at a suitable level when we announce our final squad," said Graveney.

"We are eager to ensure everyone is given every chance to prove their fitness but we are not prepared to select players that we anticipate will not reach a satisfactory level of fitness for what will be a gruelling tournament.

"Things are progressing well with Ashley [Giles] and he welcomes the opportunity to be included in the squad of 30."


Essex batsman Bopara was on Saturday called into the squad in Australia to cover for the injured Kevin Pietersen.

Loye is a big-hitter who has impressed in the Twenty20 format with Lancashire and is currently playing first-class cricket in New Zealand.

Durham seamer Onions, 24, replaced Gough in the squad in September without playing, while Danish-born seamer Khan has only just qualified for England after spending six seasons with Kent.

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Batsmen: Ian Bell (Warks), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Alastair Cook (Essex), Ed Joyce (Middx), Mal Loye (Lancs), Kevin Pietersen (Hants), Owais Shah (Middx), Vikram Solanki (Worcs), Andrew Strauss (Middx), Michael Vaughan (Yorks)

All-rounders: Rikki Clarke (Surrey), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Jamie Dalrymple (Middx), Andrew Flintoff (Lancs), Michael Yardy (Sussex)

Wicket-keepers: Paul Nixon (Leics), Matt Prior (Sussex), Chris Read (Notts)

Bowlers: James Anderson (Lancs), Stuart Broad (Leics), Glen Chapple (Lancs), Ashley Giles (Warks), Matthew Hoggard (Yorks), Amjad Khan (Kent), Jon Lewis (Glos), Sajid Mahmood (Lancs), Graham Onions (Durham), Monty Panesar (Northants), Liam Plunkett (Durham), Chris Tremlett (Hants)