Veteran England all-rounder Moeen Ali has been named as the vice-captain for the upcoming three-match One Day International (ODI) series against Ireland on Tuesday (July 21).
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that Ali will be captain Eoin Morgan’s deputy in the upcoming Ireland ODIs, as the regular white-ball vice-captain Jos Buttler couldn’t take part in the series due to his participation in the ongoing Test series against West Indies.
The English squads are being kept separate as part of the bio-security protocols for both series due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ECB said in a statement: “Moeen Ali has been confirmed as Eoin Morgan’s vice-captain for England Men’s three-match Royal London Series against Ireland.”
The board further added that the England squad for the ODI series against Ireland will be announced following the ongoing warm-up games with the series begins on July 30 behind closed doors in a bio-secure bubble at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
The official statement further reads: “England’s squad for the series itself will be confirmed next week, after two intra-squad matches (Tuesday, 11 am & Friday, 2 pm) and a warm-up match for England Lions v Ireland on Sunday, July 26 (2 pm).”
Noteworthy, the all-rounder is currently in brilliant form with the bat, as he hit a stroke-filled knock of 85 off just 45 balls including 6 sixes and 7 boundaries to help his team to post a massive total of 325 for 9 in 40 overs against Eoin Morgan's side in the 1st of 2-match intra-squad fixtures at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday in the lead up to the Ireland series.
Here’s England’s Behind-Closed-Doors ODI Training Group:
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Henry Brookes, Brydon Carse, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Laurie Evans, Richard Gleeson, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Tom Helm, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey.
(With ANI Inputs)
