Brook added to England's ODI squad to set up World Cup shoot-out
Cricket
Brook also features in second-string squad to play Ireland, with Crawley named captain.
LONDON (Web Desk) - Harry Brook will have further opportunities to press his case for inclusion in England's World Cup squad after being added to their squad to face New Zealand in a four-match series and included in a second-string group that will play Ireland later this month.
Brook has impressed England's management with his response to missing out on their provisional 15-man squad for the World Cup, blazing an unbeaten century in the Hundred and hitting 43 not out and 67 in their first two T20Is against New Zealand.
He looks increasingly likely to feature in India, with head coach Matthew Mott repeatedly emphasising on Tuesday that the list of 15 names submitted to the ICC was only "provisional", and he will have the chance to add to his three ODI caps over the next three weeks.
It means the New Zealand series will become a shoot-out for batting spots in the squad, with Jason Roy, Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone the three players who appear most vulnerable to Brook's potential elevation. Roy and Malan have both scored two ODI hundreds this year while Livingstone offers a spin-bowling option, but all three have been short of form in recent weeks.
Brook has officially been added to the squad for the New Zealand series as "batting cover" and will link up with England in Cardiff on Thursday ahead of Friday's first ODI. He is also due to feature in the Ireland series, which runs from September 20-26 - and could then fly to India with the rest of the World Cup squad a day later.
With such a tight turnaround, none of the provisional 15-man squad have been included in the squad to face Ireland, which will be captained by Zak Crawley. Sam Hain, George Scrimshaw and Jamie Smith are in contention to make their international debuts, while Brydon Carse and Rehan Ahmed - who could be travelling reserves for the World Cup - also feature.
England are keen to give Crawley opportunities in white-ball cricket after he finished the Ashes as their leading run-scorer, and he will add to his three ODIs while leading his country for the first time. Ben Duckett, who ran the drinks throughout the four-match T20I series against New Zealand, will be vice-captain.
Will Jacks, whose highest score in those four matches was 22, also features, while Phil Salt will also feature after being left out of the T20I squad. Luke Wood, Craig Overton and Matthew Potts join Carse and Scrimshaw as the seam-bowling options.
The ECB said that England's selectors "consulted with the first-class counties" and took the County Championship standings into consideration when picking the Ireland squad, to avoid leaving teams who were pushing for the title, promotion, or to avoid relegation without several first-choice players.
England squad to play Ireland: Rehan Ahmed, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley (captain), Ben Duckett (vice-captain), Sam Hain, Will Jacks, Craig Overton, Matthew Potts, Phil Salt, George Scrimshaw, Jamie Smith, Luke Wood
Fixtures: September 20 - 1st ODI, Headingley; September 23 - 2nd ODI, Trent Bridge; September 26 - 3rd ODI, Bristol
