Nottinghamshire batsmen Alex Hales and James Taylor have been selected, alongside their county colleague Stuart Broad, for England’s Test Series against Pakistan.
Broad enjoyed a stunning Investec Ashes series during which he took 21 wickets at 20.90. The Notts batting duo, meanwhile, have forced their way into the touring party with their performances in domestic cricket and the one-day international arena.
The 2015 campaign has seen Hales average over 50 in first-class cricket, scoring a double-hundred against Durham and 189 against Warwickshire. He also impressed in the Royal London One-Day Series against New Zealand where he posted two rapid half-centuries.
Taylor, whose two Test appearance to date came against South Africa in 2012, has forced his way into contention by posting a first-class average of 46.57, including a career-best 291 in the LV= County Championship victory over Sussex.
The 25-year-old has stood in as England’s limited-overs captain on two occasions in 2015 and posted scores of 49, 43, 101, 41 and 12 in the recent one-day series against Australia.
His century against the turning ball at Emirates Old Trafford demonstrated the prowess against spin bowling that is likely to be crucial in the subcontinent.
The three Test series between England and Pakistan in the UAE gets underway on Tuesday 13 October in Abu Dhabi.
Taylor and Hales have also been selected for the four match one-day series and three twenty20s that follow.
“We would like to congratulate Alastair Cook, Eoin Morgan, Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace on the excellent results they have achieved this summer across all three different formats. We are particularly pleased with the way in which a host of new, young players have swiftly adapted to international cricket and made their mark on the England team in such style," said National Selector James Whitaker.
“The challenge we face against Pakistan will be very different and the composition of our squads reflects the conditions we expect to encounter in the UAE.
“Alex Hales has scored heavily for Nottinghamshire in First Class cricket this season, has shown he can play match-winning innings for England in white ball cricket and fully deserves an opportunity to compete for a place at the top of the order in our Test side.
"Zafar Ansari’s potential excites us and he will provide strong competition for Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in the Test squad after enjoying an excellent domestic season with both bat and ball for Surrey.
“In line with our recent decision to rest Joe Root for the Royal London One-Day Series against Australia, we have opted not to include Ben Stokes in our One-Day or T20 International squads.
“Ben has been an outstanding performer for England this summer and this decision reflects a desire to manage his workload across a busy winter period in all three formats of the game. He will come back into contention for the white-ball format when we consider the make-up of our squads for the tour of South Africa later in the year.“
England Test Squad:
Alastair Cook (Essex) captain
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Zafar Ansari (Surrey)
Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Ian Bell (Warwickshire)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Steven Finn (Middlesex)
Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)
Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
James Taylor (Nottinghamshire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
One-Day International Squad:
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) captain
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Sam Billings (Kent)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Steven Finn (Middlesex)
Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Jason Roy (Surrey)
James Taylor (Nottinghamshire)
Reece Topley (Essex)
David Willey (Northamptonshire)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
T20 International Squad:
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) captain
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
Sam Billings (Kent)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)
Chris Jordan (Sussex)
Stephen Parry (Lancashire)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Jason Roy (Surrey)
Reece Topley (Essex)
James Vince (Hampshire)
David Willey (Northamptonshire)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
Trent Bridge will host England's One-Day Internationals against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in 2016. Sign up here to be the first to hear about fixture and ticketing information for these two matches.