England ODI: Curran, Crocombe and Crane Press Test Claims — SkimNews
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- England begin an ODI tri-series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on Tuesday (9am first ball, live on Sky Sports), as the first leg of a winter that also includes white-ball tours, Tests in South Africa and Bangladesh, and the pink-ball 150th-anniversary Test in Australia in March.
- Mason Crane is recalled for his first England appearance since 2018, having leapfrogged Rehan Ahmed in the white-ball pecking order, with Jacks, James Coles and Crane all able to push for places on the Test tour of South Africa from December 17.
- Henry Crocombe was awarded a two-year central contract last week without a senior international appearance; the 25-year-old Eastbourne-born seamer, who will join Surrey from Sussex ahead of 2027, is set for a T20I debut in Australia and is bracketed with Archer, Tongue and Atkinson as a multi-format bowler.
- Ben Duckett did not receive a two-year central-contract extension, and with Jacob Bethell returning from injury and Tom Banton having just hit his maiden ODI hundred, his opening berth faces pressure alongside a Test average of 23.42 across his last 11 Tests.
- Sam Curran, who has not played a Test in over five years, is being lined up to fill the pace-bowling all-rounder role vacated by Ben Stokes' retirement from international cricket this summer, though fitness after the groin injury that ended his home summer is the open question.
- England head into the tri-series on three straight ODI series wins (Sri Lanka away, India at home, Sri Lanka at home) under captain Harry Brook, reversing last year's 3-0 loss in New Zealand that had raised 2027 World Cup qualification fears.
Why it matters: The tri-series doubles as England's Test squad job interview. Curran is being positioned to succeed Stokes, Crocombe will earn or lose a multi-format future, Crane returns after eight years to stake a claim as Rashid's leg-spin heir, and Duckett's red-ball place is quietly on notice — all before the South Africa tour starts December 17.
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