England white-ball coach Matthew Mott has suggested rising star Harry Brook could yet feature at the World Cup, saying the defending champions’ final squad is “still open for debate”.
Brook was omitted when England announced their preliminary 15-man squad for the 50-over tournament in India which starts next month. But teams do not have to confirm their squads until September 28.
The 24-year-old Brook was initially edged out by 2019 World Cup final hero Ben Stokes’s decision to reverse his retirement from one-day internationals.
But a hundred for Northern Superchargers in his next innings in The Hundred, followed by contributions of 43 not out and 67 in T20 international wins against New Zealand reignited the debate about Brook’s World Cup place.
“He is one of a number of players who has an opportunity to put their hand up,” Mott told the BBC.
“What I would say about Harry is that what you want to see from players when they miss out on a squad, is you want them to come out and slam that door down.
“And I thought at the start of this series, and with his hundred in the Hundred, he made a real statement. It is still open for debate and there will be plenty of good cricket played in the next month so we’ll see what that squad ends up looking like. It’s just an incredibly hard side to select and to squeeze 15 players into it.”