Uncapped Seamer George Garton In England's 16-Man Squad For The ODI Series Against Sri Lanka

England head coach Chris Silverwood has named uncapped fast bowler George Garton in the 16-man squad for the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka and England will square off play three T20Is and three ODIs between 23 June and 4 July. Cardiff will host the first two T20Is, followed by Southampton. Chester-Le-Street, The Oval, and Bristol will stage the three ODIs. George Stone makes it to the squad at Olly Stone’s expense whose stress fracture has ruled him out of the remaining English summer.

George Garton has been a frequent fixture in England’s Lion white-ball plans since he was 19 and made it to the touring party of the 2017-18 Ashes squad. The last two vitality blast seasons has witnessed the 24-year old pick up 22 wickets at 13.54, with an economy rate of 6.93. Aside from that, Garton has also contributed with the bat as a finisher and has been an outstanding fielder. The hosts will also miss Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Reece Topley, and Saqib Mahmood – all of whom are recovering from injuries.

But Joe Root has returned to the ODI setup after missing the series in India. Chris Silverwood, who will not be England’s coach for the ODI series, underlined that Olly Stone was part of their plans and it’s a shame they have lost them. Nevertheless, he revealed to have tracked George Garton’s progress for Sussex in white-ball cricket. Silverwood feels that Garton, with an ability to bowl quick and being a left-arm seamer, gives them an option good enough to earn a selection.

“It is a great shame as Olly was showing real promise with the ball and would have been part of our selection plans for this series. We have been monitoring the progress of George Garton for quite some time. He has been a significant part of Sussex’s bowling unit in white-ball cricket for an extended period. His ability to bowl quick, with his point of difference being a left-armer, certainly gives us options in this series, and he deserves his chance at this level,” Silverwood stated as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo.

England 16-man ODI squad to face Sri Lanka:

Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Tom Curran, George Garton, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

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