ENGLAND TOUR OF SRI LANKA, 2018

Olly Stone earns maiden call-up for Sri Lanka ODIs

by Rob Johnston • Last updated on

Uncapped Warwickshire fast bowler earns maiden ODI call--up. © Getty

Uncapped Warwickshire fast bowler Olly Stonehas been called up for England's five-game ODI tour of Sri Lanka next month. Sam Curran has also been included alongside his brother Tom, raising the possibility that they will become the first brothers to play for England in the same match since Adam and Ben Hollioake in 1999.

Stone is regarded as one of the quickest bowlers in the country and has finally been playing regularly this season after injury problems earlier in his career. The 24-year-old, who started at Northamptonshire before moving to Edgbaston at the start of the 2017 season, has been in strong form for Warwickshire and bowling with the sort of pace and aggression which got him a place on the ECB's pace bowling programme in 2015. In this year's Royal London One-Day Cup, Stone led the side's wicket-taking list, with 12 wickets at 28.17.

He has been named in the 16-man squad as a replacement for Liam Plunkett who will miss the first three matches of the series to get married. The date of Plunkett's wedding was originally set to avoid the limited-overs portion of the tour but the Sri Lankan board then changed the dates which meant it clashed. With preparations well underway, it was too late for Plunkett to change but he will join the squad for the final two games in Kandy and Colombo.

All-rounder Sam, who made his ODI debut against Australia at Old Trafford earlier this year, has been included as the left-arm bowling option in the squad as David Willey was ruled out of the tour with a stress fracture of the back. Sam's brother Tom has also been selected having not played ODI cricket for England since the tour to New Zealand last winter. He was ruled out of the series against India earlier this season with a side strain but has returned to action in recent weeks to help Surrey claim the County Championship title.

The squad includes three spin bowling options with Hampshire's all-rounder Liam Dawson joining the two first choice spinners Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid. Fast-bowler Chris Woakes, the leader of England's white-ball attack, is also included after missing the series against Australia and India this summer because of a knee injury. Alex Hales and Ben Stokes have both been named following the announcement yesterday that they have been charged with bringing the game into disrepute for the incident outside a Bristol nightclub last September. They will face disciplinary hearings in December.

England leave for Colombo on September 30 and will play five ODIs against Sri Lanka, staring on October 10 in Dambulla. There is then a solitary T20I fixture before the Test series begins. England will announce a squad for the one-off T20 match and a party for the three-match Test series in due course.

Squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

© Cricbuzz

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