Between them, Stokes, Wood and Woakes have not played a single T20 match this year – international or domestic – through a combination of injury and rotation, but the selectors have kept faith with their experience. Stokes, the England Test captain who retired from ODIs in July, will join the World Cup build-up after 18 months out of T20I preparation, with his immediate priority being next week’s decisive third Test against South Africa at the Kia Oval. Two other members of England’s World Cup squad, Liam Livingston and Chris Jordan, will also miss the Pakistan tour as they recover from ankle and finger injuries respectively, but both are on track to be fit for the tournament in Australia, the first match of which is against Afghanistan in Perth on October 22. Wood, who suffered an elbow injury during England’s Test tour of the Caribbean in March, underwent the second of two operations on the joint in July, although he is expected to train with the Test squad at The Oval this week as continues back to action. Woakes, meanwhile, has been hampered by persistent knee problems in recent months and having been restricted to a solitary 2nd XI game for Warwickshire this summer, also underwent surgery in July in a bid to be fit for the World Cup. England have named three traveling reserves for the World Cup, including Tymal Mills, who featured in last year’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Unlike fellow internationals Liam Dawson and Richard Gleeson, however, Mills will not travel to Pakistan as he continues his recovery from finger surgery earlier this month. The Pakistan campaign includes a number of notable call-ups, including Warwickshire’s Olly Stone, one of England’s 90mph fast bowlers, who battled a stress fracture last year to miss this year’s Hundred with a broken finger. Middlesex and Birmingham Phoenix all-rounder Tom Helm is among five players in the 19 who are yet to feature at T20I level. Lancashire’s Luke Wood receives his second England call-up of the year after being an unused substitute in Holland in June, while at the front of the batteries, Will Jacks was rewarded for an impressive domestic summer that included only his second century in story of the Hundred, for the Oval Invincibles against the Southern Brave last month. Nottinghamshire’s Ben Duckett is also back in the England ranks, having played a solitary T20I since 2016, while Jordan Cox receives his first call-up, 12 months after starring in Kent’s T20 Blast triumph in 2021. There is no , however, for Somerset’s Will Smeed, the scorer of the first hundreds, not a recall for the ever-prolific Alex Hales. England’s T20 World Cup squad Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingston, David Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood Travel Reserves Liam Dawson, Richard Gleeson, Tymal Mills England T20I squad to tour Pakistan: Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Alli (vice-captain), Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Liam Dawson, Richard Gleeson, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, David Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ollie Stone, Reece Topley , David Willey, Chris Woakes, Luke Wood, Mark Wood Andrew Miller is ESPNcricinfo’s UK editor. @miller_cricket
