Worcestershire Rapids Vitality Blast captain, Moeen Ali, will be looking to continue his impressive T20I form after being selected by England for the five match series in the West Indies next month.
Moeen made a substantial contribution with bat and ball during England’s run to the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE.
The off spinner was often given the new ball, and returned fine figures of 2-17 (against the West Indies), 2-18 (Bangladesh) and 2-15 (Sri Lanka).
He also top-scored for England with 51 not out from 37 balls in the five wicket semi-final defeat against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi.
Moeen will be aiming to add to his 44 T20I appearances, and it is nearly eight years since he made his debut in that format of the game, against the West Indies in Bridgetown.
Eoin Morgan will captain a 16-player squad and Paul Collingwood will stand in as head coach for the series which will be played at the Kensington Oval, Barbados from January 22-30. Marcus Trescothick will join the squad as an assistant coach.
The squad includes 11 players who participated in the T20 World Cup. Gloucestershire’s left-arm seamer David Payne is the one uncapped player in the squad.
Collingwood said: “We have selected a strong squad with some serious batting power and a balanced attack as we begin preparations ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia.
“The World Cup is less than a year away and there will be increased opportunities for the squad in the absence of those players who are with the Ashes squad.
“I have good memories winning a World Cup in Barbados and I’m really looking forward to going back there with this squad to face a very good West Indies who will test all aspects of our skills.”
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Squad:
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex – captain)
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
Tom Banton (Somerset)
Sam Billings (Kent)
Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
George Garton (Sussex)
Chris Jordan (Surrey)
Liam Livingstone (Lancashire)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
Tymal Mills (Sussex)
David Payne (Gloucestershire)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Jason Roy (Surrey),
Phil Salt (Lancashire)
Reece Topley (Surrey)
James Vince (Hampshire).
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T20I SERIES
Saturday, January 22 – 1st T20I West Indies v England
Sunday, January 23 – 2nd T20I West Indies v England
Wednesday, January 26 – 3rd T20I West Indies v England
Saturday, January 29 – 4th T20I West Indies v England
Sunday, January 30 – 5th T20I West Indies v England
