Former England skipper Joe Root will be the only World Cup-bound player to feature in the three-ODI series against Ireland which will commence on September 20. Root was not there in the initial 13-member squad for the home series but he replaced Harry Brook after the England Cricket Board (ECB) announced the World Cup squad on September 18.
Root has not been in the best of forms leading up to the ODI World Cup 2023 in India starting October 5 with defending champions facing New Zealand. In the recently concluded ODI series against the Kiwis, the 32-year-old registered scores of 6, 0, and 4 in the first three ODIs. In the third ODI, he scored 29 runs from 40 balls but did not look comfortable at the crease.
England's national selector, Luke Wright revealed that Root "asked to be involved" in the ODI at Headingley, Leeds on September 20.
"Like for a lot of people, he is getting that rhythm of 50-over cricket," Wright said. "Obviously we don't play [much of] it in this country, but a lot of those lads haven't played a lot of 50-over cricket, especially someone like Joe.
"He just wanted a bit more time. It's a great thing for someone to still have that desire to keep wanting to do more and more. It shows where he's at with his game and what makes him such a world-class player that, when he doesn't feel quite right, he still wants to tinker and do more. As much as we probably thought he needed a break as well, he just wanted another go."
Wright also clarified why Brook has been rested from the series despite an ordinary display against the Kiwis. "You only have to look at what he's had on this summer. He's had one of the busiest summers out of everyone from the Ashes, into the Hundred and then these series,” Wright said.
"It would be silly of us to not give him a break. You always have to look at how much more batting does someone need versus what mental break do they need. I think in this case, we wanted to give him that break before the World Cup so he's going to rest for that Ireland series," he added.
England ODI squad versus Ireland: Zak Crawley (captain), Ben Duckett, Sam Hain, Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Luke Wood, Philip Salt, Jamie Smith, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, George Scrimshaw, Tom Hartley.
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