Hampshire pair Vince and Dawson named in England’s T20 squad for tour of the West Indies

James Vince could next month make his first England appearance in a T20 match for over two years.
James Vince will have to cut short his bid to win a third successive Australian Big Bash League title as he joins up with the England squad next month for a five-game T20 tour in the Caribbean. Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images.James Vince will have to cut short his bid to win a third successive Australian Big Bash League title as he joins up with the England squad next month for a five-game T20 tour in the Caribbean. Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images.
James Vince will have to cut short his bid to win a third successive Australian Big Bash League title as he joins up with the England squad next month for a five-game T20 tour in the Caribbean. Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images.

The Hampshire skipper has been included in a 16-man squad for a five-game series against the West Indies in the Caribbean.

Vince has not played for his country in the shortest format since making his 12 appearance against New Zealand in November 2019.

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But with the fifth Ashes Test set to finish in Hobart just four days before the first T20 on January 22, no England player currently attempting to regain the urn in Australia has been considered for selection.

White-ball captain Eoin Morgan will therefore be without the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood as England start to look ahead to the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.

In the absence of Bairstow and Malan, the likes of Vince, Phil Salt and Tom Banton could all get a chance to impress selectors near the top of the order alongside regular opener Jason Roy.

Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson has also been named in a squad which includes uncapped left-armers George Garton and David Payne.

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Dawson is aiming to win his seventh T20 international cap, having made his sixth appearance almost four years ago, in February 2018 in New Zealand.

Garton, 24, made a favourable impression in the inaugural edition of The Hundred this summer, taking the crucial wickets of Malan, Alex Hales and D’Arcy Short in the men’s eliminator en route to Southern Brave winning the title.

Fellow seamer Payne, who took six wickets for Welsh Fire in the competition, was drafted into England’s squad for the ODI series against Pakistan in July following a Covid-19 outbreak among the first team. But the 30-year-old - born in Poole and a former Bournemouth player in the Southern Premier League - went unselected for the three matches.

The pair come into the reckoning at the expense of David Willey, an unused squad member as England reached the T20 World Cup semi-finals in the United Arab Emirates last month, while there is no room for highly-rated leg-spinner Matt Parkinson.

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Fast bowler Saqib Mahmood, though, has been recalled. Mahmood – currently representing Sydney Thunder in Australia’s Big Bash League, where he took 4-22 against Brisbane Heat on Sunday – was recently touted for an Ashes call-up as England find themselves 2-0 down ahead of the Boxing Day Test

Vince’s international call means he will also miss the final few weeks of the BBL tournament.

He is trying to help the Sydney Sixers collect a hat-trick of titles, and they have started well with four wins in five matches.

Vince has yet to really shine, hitting 113 runs at 22.6, while team-mates Josh Philippe (282 runs) and Moises Henriques (232) are the two leading run-getters in the competition.

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Former Hampshire overseas signing Colin Munro has helped the Perth Scorchers win their opening five qualifying group games.

England squad (v West Indies, January 22-30): E Morgan (captain), M Ali, T Banton, S Billings, L Dawson, G Garton, C Jordan, L Livingstone, S Mahmood, T Mills, D Payne, A Rashid, J Roy, P Salt, R Topley, J Vince.