England will operate separate white-ball and Test squads for the majority of the summer, the ECB’s director of men’s cricket Ashley Giles has confirmed.
Pakistan and the West Indies are both due to visit for Test series this summer, while England are also scheduled to play three T20s against the former, an ODI series against Ireland and both white-ball formats against Australia.
However, the coronavirus pandemic means those fixtures which are still able to take place will do so in a condensed period, with professional cricket suspended until at least July 1.
The ECB announced on Thursday that England’s centrally-contracted bowlers will return to individual training next week, with batsmen and wicketkeepers to follow in a fortnight’s time.
Giles said the initial group of 30 players involved would have a “red-ball focus”.
“In two or three weeks’ time we’ll do the same for white-ball cricket,” he told Sky Sports. “We’re going to have to operate two separate squads for the majority of the summer.”
England’s focus has shifted back towards Test cricket following last summer’s World Cup win, with the ultimate aim of regaining the Ashes down under in 2021/22. However, the T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin in Australia in October, meaning selectors may have some difficult decisions to make about who plays in which squads.
England currently have six players who hold both Test and white-ball central contracts: Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow.
Test captain Root is a shoo-in to play in the longer form, while Bairstow was recently dropped from the side but remains one of the world’s best top-order batsmen in ODI and T20 cricket.
However, the other four all play key roles in both white and red-ball sides, with Archer, Stokes and Buttler certain starters in all three formats.
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In addition, the likes of Joe Denly, Sam Curran and Mark Wood have all featured regularly in both Test, ODI and T20 squads over the past 18 months, while Moeen Ali – a key part of the white-ball set-up – recently suggested he was ready to end his self-imposed Test hiatus.
