England name unchanged squad for West Indies ODI tour

England on Friday named an unchanged squad for the tour of the West Indies from the side that finished the recent One-Day International (ODI) series in India, which they lost 1-2.

In the tour of the Caribbean, England will play a three-match One-Day International (ODI) series starting in March in Antigua.

"There is a huge emphasis on white-ball cricket during the first half of 2017, as we continue our preparation ahead of this summer's Champions Trophy tournament in England", an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement on Friday.

James Whitaker, national selector, said: "There is a huge emphasis on white-ball cricket during the first half of 2017, as we continue our preparation ahead of this summer's Champions Trophy tournament in England.

"We felt it was important to keep faith with the squad that competed during the recent tour of India. The current group of players are making excellent progress under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan and head coach Trevor Bayliss and the tour of the Caribbean will enable the team to test themselves in different conditions against a competitive side in the West Indies."

England will arrive in St. Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday February 22 before playing two warm-up matches at Warner Park on Saturday February 25 and February 27.

The ODI squad: Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Eoin Morgan (captain), Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes.

--IANS

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