Bonus Episode - England World Cup Squad announcement

In this bonus episode, Rash takes a look at the England World Cup Squad, which was announced on 7th May.

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Transcript

Welcome everyone to this bonus episode of the Willows to Wisdom podcast. Well the wait is over, as on Thursday 7th May England announced their 16 player squad for the 2026 Over 60 World Cup, taking place in Toronto, Canada in August of this year.

A number of countries had already announced their squads and England, after a 2 day meet up in Loughborough a few weeks ago, and after the inter squad game at Ticknall, took their time in naming their 16 players, highlighting maybe the difficulties the selection committee had in whittling down the numbers with some very talented players missing out. Now, as always when a squad is announced, people have their own opinions, and I’m no exception !!! But, it should be noted that illness, injury, availability and affordability are some of the factors that are in play when selection is made, and I, along with you listening don’t know why player A isn’t selected, and player B is, so it seems folly and foolish to speculate.

For those of you not aware of the squad, here it is in full -:

Gloucestershire’s Ed Gordon Lennox, will again skipper the team, but there is a change to the Vice Captain, with that position going to Mel Hussain from Essex. The rest of the squad in alphabetical order are Temoor Alam (Buckinghamshire), Steve Aston (Staffordshire), Neil Brathwaite (Essex), Phil Deakin (Lancashire), Mel Dobson (Cheshire), Nick Gaywood (Yorkshire), Mick Haynes (Staffordshire), Phil Hillson (Essex), Vince Mulholland (Essex), Paul Radage (Cheshire), Simon Routh (Kent), Alan Whitman (Hampshire), Mark Wilson (Yorkshire) & Muhammad Zahid (Yorkshire)

Firstly, congratulations to all those selected, the real hard work starts now, as your every move and decision on and off the pitch, as well as your performances are going to have an army of scrutineers !!! 

Before I take a closer look at the squad, I thought it might be helpful to see who was present in 2024 in Chennai, and is going to be present in 2026, in Toronto.

From the squad that were listed for the 2024 final, only 6 remain, Ed Gordon Lennox, Mel Hussain, Nick Gaywood, Phil Deakin, and the 2 stumpers, Steve Aston & Simon Routh. Now in doing so, England have been brave in their selection, with the likes of Richard Merriman, Jason Caunt, Michael Palmer, Graham Shaw, Kevin Watson & Montie Douglas who were in that 2024 final squad missing out this time around as well as a few others who have moved on into the over 70’s, Marcus Young & Jim Phillips, the 2 notable ones. Those players have served England well, and their talents and experience are hard to replicate, but the good teams are always evolving, and hard decisions have to be made if you are to progress. Australia have taken the same approach, with only 6 of their players from 2024, in their named squad for 2026.

The 2026 squad has some notable names missing, who have impressed over the past year or so, the likes of Neal Jackson, Ian Barton, Charles Scholefield, Lee Selfe, Steve Small, Mark Eames & Dean Sykes to name a few, but again, there may well be underlying reasons why these players were not selected.

Now let’s take a closer look at the squad starting with the batters.

One of the issues England have faced over the past couple of years is finding a settled opening pair. For a number of years, the right hand, left hand combination of Richard Merriman & Nick Gaywood were utilised to great effect, but with Richard stepping down from International cricket after the last World Cup, and Nick being utilised in a different role playing in the middle order, a number of different combinations have been tried, with varying degrees of success. Paul Radage, Mark Eames, Steve Small, Mel Hussain were all tried in a number of matches, and whilst there were certainly successes it was towards the middle of last summer that I believe England found the right balance, with the Essex pair of Mel Hussain & Neil Brathwaite. Both are incredibly talented players, good stroke makers who like to get on with things. Their understanding of eachothers skills and abilities and their communication gave England good platforms during the summer. 

I think that England will persevere with those 2 as the openers, but Paul Radage is also a notable player in the squad. He can open the batting as well, and is a more than capable player coming in at 3, and anybody who saw him in the 2nd Grey Ashes match at Caulfield in the 2024 winter tour of Australia, when he batted Tony Panecasio out of the attack, can attest to his abilities. Paul is also an excellent fielder, and together with Neil Brathwaite, provide England with 2 superb boundary fielders, with good athleticism and good arms.

Temoor Alam is a good example of what the Lions set up brings to the England Seniors. Temoor made his debut last summer for the Lions against Scotland, and top scored, looking an exciting prospect. Further good performances followed, including in the 1st Lions match against Australia where he and Simon Routh so nearly got England home to record a famous victory. Promotion to the England Seniors followed, and he showed his intent from the off, and had an excellent summer. He plays with no fear, is confident in his abilities, and backs himself. Personally, I think he is more suited to coming in at number four, but he certainly has the talent to go in at 3 if needed.

Ed Gordon Lennox, and I’m sure he won’t mind me saying this, had a miserable 2024 World Cup, but he got back to something like his best during the 2024 summer series against Pakistan, and performed well during the past summer series against The West Indies, Australia and The USA. He can score very quickly when in the mood, and offers England a solid platform in the middle order, as does the mercurial talent of Nick Gaywood. Nick is an outstanding batter, and freed up from his opening role, looks like he is enjoying the freedom that middle order batting has given him. He is talented beyond belief, and can demolish any bowling attack in the world, and coming in at 5 or 6, will most likely not be facing the opposition’s strike bowlers, so he offers a very high ceiling batting lower down the order.

Phil Hillson is a pocket rocket of a player, who broke into the Lions squad last summer and hasn’t looked back. His performances during the summer got him selection to the Lions tour of India this year as they competed in the India Over 60 National Championship, and he looked right at home on the Indian pitches, scoring 238 runs, and being dismissed only the once. He is aggressive in his batting, but runs well between the wickets and in addition is also a very good fielder, and he is another one to have impressed with the Lions to be given his chance. 

So, those are the recognised batters. England have a number of options in how they want the line up to go, and I’m sure it will be dependent on fitness, fatigue, game strategy and standings in the Group table as the World Cup progresses. It’s certainly a line up that gives the opposition no respite whatsoever, and if they all click, England could put up some impressive scores, albeit the pitches, conditions and opposition are factors to be considered.

So, onto the bowlers, and long time seamers Michael Palmer, Kevin Watson & Jason Caunt are missing. The 3 have been fantastic players for England and they will be missed, but as I said at the start of this piece, the good teams are always looking to evolve, and the bowlers selected I think are a very talented group, albeit some of them lacking significant International experience. Starting with the seamers, well Vince Mulholland is another Lions player promoted, and another who performed well in India this winter. His drive, determination and hard work in coming back from an Achilles injury should be commended. He is inventive and innovative in his bowling and is getting better and better the more exposure he has to top class Senior’s cricket. His bowling I think is going to be a tremendous asset in Canada.

Mark Wilson has been impressive ever since he joined the England ranks, and his bowling figures for the team do not do him justice. He is more than capable of bowling his allocation of overs straight through and is miserly with the runs he gives away. He is equally adept at opening the bowling or coming on first change and gives England options, and good options as well. Wilson bowls intelligently, with good discipline and accuracy. 

Staffordshire’s Mick Haynes is probably a surprising name to many, but I was mightily impressed with his attitude and application in the recent inter squad game at Ticknall and praised him for such in the previous episode of the podcast. The grit, determination and ability he showed in that match are qualities you want from all your players. He showed determination in the face of adversity, having been smacked for 13 runs in his 1st over, he bowled very well thereafter. It is going to be interesting to see how he handles making the significant jump from County Cricket into the International arena, but first impressions suggest that he is someone who will be well suited by the challenge. He is a very interesting selection.

I’ll include Hampshire’s Alan Whitman here. I first saw him in the nets at Loughborough a few weeks ago, and he stood out, not only because of his stature, but his attitude on the day and the way he applied himself. He is a more than useful batter, and can certainly be entrusted to bowl. Although physically different to Nick Newman who played in 2024, and last summer, he does remind me of him in many ways, steely determination and a confidence in his abilities. Like Hayne’s selection, this is an interesting one.

Onto the spinners, and it’s no surprise that Lancashire’s Phil Deakin is included. He had a fantastic summer, taking plenty of wickets. He is someone who as well as having that strike capability, can also hold an end up, without conceding many runs. He is right up there with the world’s best senior spinners, and his availability gives England a strong hand in the spinning department. Deakin is going to have a heavy workload, but he’s proved on countless occasions that he can handle that. 

Mel Dobson gains recognition for a string of good performances last year, and he is another Lions graduate. Mel’s demeanour is that of a quiet man, but that belies his inner belief in his abilities. When he is in a groove, he is an incredibly hard bowler to score off, and if his teammate operating at the other end is bowling well, Dobson has the talent and ability to completely shut down the scoring. 

Muhammad Zahid, is the wildcard for me. He’s recently returned to cricket after a number of years out of the game, but he is a spinner with real talent. The question mark over him is his durability, but if he is in good shape, England have a very good bowler in their ranks, someone who can mix things up and prove difficult to score off.

In addition to those main 5 bowlers, England do have other options as well. Mel Hussain is clearly above average and takes wickets regularly. Anyone who saw his spell of bowling in the 3rd ODI against Australia at the Tanunda Oval in the winter of 2024, would have been impressed with his discipline and control, and he generally bowls well. 

Those of you who listened to the last episode will have heard how Nick Gaywood mentioned improvement in his bowling. Nick certainly has improved and again gives England options.

Phil Hillson can also bowl, and along with Whitman offers something different, and more importantly, something that the other World Cup sides will not have seen, which could be a significant advantage.

Well, that just leaves the 2 wicket keepers to discuss, Steve Aston & Simon Routh. Now I included Steve in my World 13 in the last episode and stand by it. He is the best wicket keeper in Seniors cricket and is a more than useful batter. His is fiercely determined, hates losing, and will give his all, each and every time he is on the field. Simply put, he was the first name that I included in my squad when I came to name my probable 16.

Simon Routh, offers the same as Aston, but is less snarly and less frightening !!!! He is an exceptionally gifted keeper, and England are blessed to have himself and Aston in the front ranks. He very rarely lets you down and is a more than useful batter in the lower middle order, as well as being a very good outfielder in his own right. 

Paul Bradley will be in Canada overseeing things as the self-appointed Mayor of the Independent Republic of Teeside, oh and as England Team Manager of course, and yours truly hopes to be there as well, if the commentary situation can be agreed and finalised, and I can scrape the funds together to go. I’m down to 1 kidney left after Australia 2024!!!

So that’s the squad that are going to try and go one better than 2024, when England lost to Australia in the final. If I’m being honest, no-one knows what to expect in Canada. In England’s last tour over there a few years ago, the pitches were very poor, and scores above 150 were the exception rather than the rule. I’ve not been able to get any updates from Cricket Masters Canada on how the pitches will be this time round, or a complete breakdown of the venues. Much is going to rest on the state of the pitches, and it is hoped by everyone of course that in the intervening period since England last visited, the pitches will be of a standard befitting such a prestigious tournament as the World Cup.

Have England got the right team? Only time will tell, but they have certainly been brave in their selection. In the helter skelter of a World Cup, you need a lot of things to go your way, not only on the pitch but off it also. The schedule as yet is not known, but if it is anything like it was in India, tiredness, fatigue both mental and physical and travel play a massive part in ensuring a successful tournament, in addition to injuries, form and the opponents. 

The individual and collective personalities of the squad will be tested to the limit, as will the ability to focus on playing cricket far from home, and without the immediate on hand support of family and friends.

The new Leadership team of Ed Gordon Lennox as skipper and Mel Hussain as Vice Captain has been announced. I think this is a potentially good partnership. I think both have different leadership styles, but they are both fiercely competitive. If they can harness their collective talents and attributes and pass them onto the squad, I fully expect England to go a long way in the tournament. 

Now, much can happen between now and the World Cup starting, and the pressure on the named players ramps up as the tournament approaches. Playing for England is a great honour, and being named in the squad to represent your country in a World Cup increases that pressure even more, and for many of the players, they will be getting more exposure than they possibly normally do. This is something that is overlooked and having been in and around the team for the last few years, I can tell you that comments made about performances and selection are taken to heart, and can have an adverse effect. I’m not advocating that we all collectively praise England even if they don’t perform to their best, what I am asking for is some level headedness in terms of making comments on social media about the players selected/not selected and the performances. 

It is right and proper that the performances are analysed and discussed, but let’s all, and I include myself in this, take time to think about what we are posting on social media, and the effect it can have.

Finally, to all the players selected, come together as a team, play with spirit, grit and determination, safe in the knowledge that we are all supporting you.

The very best of luck to you all.

Well in addition to the World Cup Squad being announced, a 26 player squad for the England Lions was also announced, and I will look at the players selected in the next episode of the podcast.

For now, though, it’s goodbye from me, Rash Mahmood, and I will catch you next time round.