Hampshire trio selected for 55-man England training squad ahead of international cricket return

James Vince, Liam Dawson and Mason Crane are on a list of 55 players selected by the ECB. All players are either current internationals or on the brink of making either the Test, ODI or T20 squads.

Performance Director Mo Bobat said: ‘It’s really pleasing to be in a position to have players returning to training and a huge amount of work has been done by many to get us this far.

‘The pool of players will give selectors strong options when it comes to selecting squads across formats further down the line, as we move closer to our aim of playing international cricket this summer.”

‘We will need to continue to work closely with our medical team and government to ensure that our return to training and play activities are in line with best-practice guidelines.

‘We’re also really grateful for the positive and collaborative response from our county colleagues who are doing a great job at facilitating coaching and support for the players.

‘The fact that we can call on our network to support the national effort shows the strength of our system.’

Vince will no doubt be aiming to win his place back in at least one England squad after being left out of the winter tour to South Africa.

That was after being part of England’s World Cup winning squad last summer and also playing in last November’s T20 series in New Zealand.

In addition to his 13 ODI outings and 12 T20 caps, Vince has also won 13 Test caps, but the last was against New Zealand over two years ago - in March 2018.

Dawson, meanwhile, last played for England in October 2018 when he made the last of his three ODI appearances, though he also was a member of last year’s World Cup winning squad.

The last of his three Test caps came in July 2017, while the last of his three T20 outings came in February 2018.

As for Crane, the leg-spinner won his only Test cap in early 2018 in Australia after playing two ODIs on home soil the previous summer.

Former Hampshire seamer Reece Topley, meanwhile, has also been included on the 55-man list - an indication that the selectors are still keen to revive his international career.

The injury-hit Topley played the last of his 10 ODI games in February 2016, and the last of his six T20 internationals the following month. A few weeks later he picked up an injury on his Hampshire debut which ruled him out of the rest of the domestic season.

In all, he only played three first class games for Hampshire but made a comeback in the Championship for Sussex last summer. After being offered a new deal, he turned it down and signed for Surrey on a white-ball contract only.

The 55 players will be placed into specific, smaller training squads in due course, with England potentially resuming international cricket against the West Indies in early July.

England’s 55-man training squad: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Dom Bess (Somerset), Sam Billings (Kent), James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Henry Brookes (Warwickshire), Pat Brown (Worcestershire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Mason Crane (Hampshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey), Tom Curran (Surrey), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Joe Denly (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Laurie Evans (Sussex), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Richard Gleeson (Lancashire), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Tom Helm (Middlesex), Will Jacks (Surrey), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Yorkshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Craig Overton (Somerset), Jamie Overton (Somerset), Matt Parkinson (Lancashire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Sussex), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Reece Topley (Surrey), James Vince (Hampshire), Amar Virdi (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).