England Test skipper will play in 50-over matchesAll other senior players are back in the T20 squadJoe Root has been omitted from England’s T20 squad to play against
South Africa in February after the Test series. This is likely to provoke mixed feelings for England’s Test captain, who offered a timely reminder of his red-ball credentials with his double century against
New Zealand in Hamilton earlier this month.
Root, who is selected for the 50-over matches in South Africa, may well welcome a little break before undertaking England’s Test tour of Sri Lanka in March. However, he has always stressed that he relishes playing in every form of the game; he craves to be a vital T20 cricketer for
England but his value in this format is not so clearcut. He may note that in South Africa all the senior men are back in the T20 squad – with the exception of himself – while there is some experimentation in the 50-over squad with the inclusion of Tom Banton of Somerset.