LONDON, 7 August 2004 — Worcestershire batsman Vikram Solanki has been recalled to the England squad for next month’s ICC Champions Trophy one-day tournament.
Fast bowler Simon Jones, who returned to the Test side this year after a knee injury, has missed out on the 14-man squad along with promising batsman Ian Bell, and all-rounders Ricki Clarke and Ian Blackwell.
“We have recalled Vikram Solanki because he gives us options at the top of the order and is an outstanding fielder,” chairman of selectors David Graveney said on the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) web site. “He has been in fine form for his county in both forms of the game.”
Off spinner Gareth Batty has also made the side as the selectors opted for two spinners with the inclusion of the rejuvenated Ashley Giles for the 12-team tournament that begins on Sept. 10. “We are playing at the back end of the season and we may find ourselves on used wickets, so Batty gives us an extra spinning option,” added Graveney.
Batty’s Worcestershire teammate Kabir Ali has also been included in the squad as an all rounder.
Despite now being the second-best Test side in the world after a run of eight victories in the last nine matches, England have a dismal one-day record and won just once in their five matches in a triangular series involving New Zealand and West Indies last month.
“We spent a long time looking at our options ...because we didn’t do ourselves justice earlier this season,” said Graveney.
“The selectors discussed at length the way we want to play and we identified a need for more depth in our batting and an increase in mobility in our fielding.”
England will play three one-day matches against India in early September before their first match in the Champions Trophy against Zimbabwe at Edgbaston on Sept. 10.
Squad: Michael Vaughan (captain), Kabir Ali, James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Stephen Harmison, Geraint Jones, Anthony McGrath, Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss, Marcus Trescothick.
India Are Not One-Day
Chokers, Says Ganguly
In New Delhi, India’s cannot be dubbed as one-day chokers despite losing 13 of their last 14 tournament finals, captain Saurav Ganguly has said.
India stumbled to a 25-run defeat in the Asia Cup final on Sunday when hosts Sri Lanka restricted them to 203-9 on a slow turner, leading to renewed criticism that the team were incapable of handling pressure.
“It’s not fair to call us chokers,” Ganguly said yesterday.
“Yes, we’ve not played that well in finals and we need to improve. But a choker is someone who cracks under pressure and we’ve not always done that.
“People should realize there is as much pressure in a World Cup semifinal as there is in the final. In Pakistan earlier this year, we were 2-1 down but won the last two matches to clinch the series. Those were pressure matches,” he said.
India won their last final against England at Lord’s in 2002 when they chased a mammoth 326 for victory. It was their first final victory since beating Zimbabwe at Sharjah in 1998. But on the flip side, India have made the final in every tournament, involving three or more teams, they have played since the ICC Champions Trophy in Nairobi in 2000.
“The way we’ve played in one-day cricket over the last few years, we deserve to win a few finals,” Ganguly said. “We definitely need to remedy that record.”
India next play a tri-series involving Pakistan and Australia in the Netherlands later this month. They then play three one-dayers against England and the 12-team Champions Trophy in September.
