Chris Jordan is set for an England recall as part of their provisional T20 World Cup squad, which will be announced on Tuesday.
Jordan earned the last of 88 T20I caps at the end of the 2023 summer against New Zealand, and missed the white-ball tour of the Caribbean in December. However, with Jamie Overton ruled out through injury, Jordan is the beneficiary as a bowler capable of valuable cameos with the bat lower down the order.
ESPNcricinfo understands that Jordan’s recall is expected to spell bad news for Chris Woakes, who is yet to feature for Punjab Kings at the IPL this season. Ben Duckett has also made the cut as England’s spare batter – and a rare left-hander – while the uncapped Tom Hartley is expected to edge Rehan Ahmed out as the second frontline spinner, behind Adil Rashid.
Jordan brings a wealth of experience, with five previous World Cups under his belt and two seasons as Surrey’s T20 captain. The 35-year-old played two matches in England’s successful 2022 campaign, which was his fourth global T20 tournament. Though he is likely to feature sparingly in the Caribbean, he remains an exceptional fielder – often used as a sub – and a willing death bowler.
England tracked Overton closely through the winter and were keen on him as a genuine allrounder. But inconclusive scans on a back injury have resulted in his omission from the provisional squad. In his absence, Jordan’s recent improvement with the bat is a relevant factor: since the start of the 2023 Vitality Blast, he has averaged 30.05 and struck at 160.53 in all T20 cricket.
Despite his omission from England’s squad that lost 3-2 in the T20I series against West Indies, Jordan had a busy winter, representing Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL, Gulf Giants in the ILT20 and Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League. He has not played since March, but will tune up for the World Cup with England’s four-match T20I series against Pakistan from May 22.
England are expected to pick a top four comprising Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Will Jacks and Jonny Bairstow, all of whom have found form at the IPL. Buttler (twice), Jacks and Bairstow have all hit centuries for their respective franchises, while Salt’s first eight innings brought him three half-centuries and a strike rate of 176.08.
Jofra Archer is also expected to feature in the provisional squad, despite a long-standing elbow injury that has prevented him from playing a competitive fixture since May 2023.
Though Archer recently admitted that another “stop-start year” could lead him to consider his future at the age of 29, the ECB hope the four-match Pakistan series can offer him a return to international cricket, ahead of a World Cup campaign that could include a maiden England appearance in front of his friends and family in his native Barbados. There is the possibility that he will warm up with some T20 appearances for Sussex’s 2nd XI in the coming weeks.
Possible England T20 World Cup squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali (vice-captain), Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Tom Hartley, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Reece Topley
Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo; Matt Roller is assistant editor
