|| CF DESK ||

For the Royal London Series against Pakistan, England has chosen an new 18-man squad. The announcement comes after it was revealed that three members of the first playing group and four members of the management staff had tested positive for Covid-19, forcing the entire squad to isolate.

Ben Stokes will captain the team, and Chris Silverwood, who was supposed to take a break for the white-ball series, has returned as Head Coach. There are nine players on the squad who have never played before.

"It's a great opportunity to play on the biggest stage, and for most of the players selected it's not necessarily something they would have been expecting 24 hours ago,” Managing Director of England Men's Cricket, Ashley Giles said.

"It's an exciting group of players, with some young talent and some players who have impressed at domestic level over a long period of time. Ben hasn't captained our ODI side before so it's a huge honour for him. We all wish him well and it's a role I'm sure he'll thrive in,”

"We're in unprecedented territory, in terms of replacing an entire squad and management team, and I'm very proud of how everyone has come together in order to get it done - both those within the ECB and from the county game,” he added.