Tom Curran, Livingstone named in England T20I squad

Tom Curran, Livingstone named in England T20I squad

England named five uncapped players - Liam Livingstone, Mason Crane, Dawid Malan, Tom Curran and Craig Overton in their 16-man squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against South Africa.

Meanwhile, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Jake Ball and Ben Stokes have been released to play County matches ahead of the first Test against South Africa at Lord's, commencing on July 6. Mark Wood, the fast bowler, will play only the first game of the series in Southampton. Tymal Mills, who impressed during the T20I series against India, earlier this year, misses out due to a back problem.

Livingstone, who crunched 247 runs for Lancashire in the T20 Blast last year, has earned his maiden call-up to the England set-up. He also compiled 189 runs in the Royal London One-Day Cup in 2016 and accumulated an impressive 306-ball 168 to pilot Lancashire to a come-from-behind win against Somerset in the County Championship this year.

Crane, the talented Hamsphire legspinner, first came into prominence when he bagged 5 for 35 against Warwickshire in a County Championship game in August 2015. The 20-year-old, who also played for New South Wales this year, is better known for his exploits in the four-day game, but England have picked him with an eye on developing a young spinner.

Tom Curran, the elder brother of Sam Curran, has won a reputation for generating sharp outswing at good pace. He picked up eight scalps during the T20 Blast last year. He has also been in fine form in Surrey's One-Day Cup campaign this season, snaring 15 wickets at 23.26.

The 22-year-old also had a successful tour of Sri Lanka with England Lions last year, picking up 10 wickets in the first-class games. In addition to his bowling exploits, Curran is known for scoring useful runs lower down the order.

Consistent performances in the domestic circuit helped Curran to find a place in the England squad for the three-match ODI series against West Indies in March this year. However, he wasn't picked in the playing XI for any of the matches.

Craig Overton, the Somerset all-rounder, and Malan, who has aggregated over 3400 T20 runs at an average of 33.91, have also been selected.

The first of the three-match T20I series will be played in Southampton on June 21. Taunton and Cardiff will host the other two matches.

England T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Jonathan Bairstow (available for first two matches of series), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (wk), Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, David Willey, Mark Wood (only for the first game), Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Liam Plunkett, Jason Roy