England call up Mason Crane almost NINE YEARS after he picked up his last cap – following leg-spinner’s reinvention as a star batter in domestic cricket
Leg-spinner Mason Crane has been called up for England’s one-day tri-series in Pakistan later this month – nearly nine years after he last played international cricket.
Crane, who won his lone Test cap at Sydney in January 2018 a few months after playing his only two T20 internationals, has returned to England’s radar this summer, taking 15 wickets at an average of 20 for Glamorgan in the T20 Blast, and 34 at 35 in division one of the championship. Not yet 30, his batting has also gone to a new level, with the first two hundreds of his career, plus a 99.
‘Mason Crane has been performing consistently for Glamorgan across both formats during the summer,’ said national selector Marcus North. ‘He’s an experienced, high-class leg-spinner who thoroughly deserves another opportunity at international level.’
Also included in England’s 16-man squad for the series in Rawalpindi and Lahore, which starts on October 18 and also involves Sri Lanka, are the uncapped Sussex duo of spin-bowling all-rounder James Coles and seamer Henry Crocombe, who has spent the summer on the fringes of the international set-up.
Mason Crane has excelled with the bat this season, having made his name as a spinner
Adil Rashid returns from the hand injury that ruled him out of the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka, and Sam Curran from the groin problem that cut short his summer. Jofra Archer will be rested, while Jos Buttler misses out after injuring a hamstring last week.
Hampshire fast bowler Sonny Baker, who bowled impressively against Sri Lanka, is also in the squad, and hoping to hone his reverse-swinging skills on the dry pitches of Pakistan.
‘I’m trying to break things down into segments,’ he said after being named as the young player of the year at the annual Professional Cricketers’ Association awards. ‘So for Pakistan it would be reverse-swing, and trying to bang my yorkers and learn about executing skills in those conditions.
‘It’s not somewhere I’ve been before, but I’m sure that’ll be a very transferable skill to playing in other areas of Asia. I’m really looking forward to it.’
England will play two games each against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, with the final taking place at Lahore on October 31.
