Mick Newell has backed the three Nottinghamshire players selected for England’s seven game tour of Sri Lanka to make a telling contribution ahead of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup.
James Taylor, Harry Gurney and Alex Hales have all been included in the squad with Stuart Broad expected to feature in the global tournament if his injury rehabilitation goes to plan.
Taylor’s inclusion rewards his strong form in the Royal London One-Day Cup where is captaincy and batting helped Notts Outlaws to reach the semi-final stage.
“All that we want to see from James is that he can do the things he does so well at county level on the international scene,” said Newell, an England Selector.
“There are seven games to be played in Sri Lanka so he can be confident that he’ll get an opportunity to demonstrate the game awareness that he has in abundance.
“He handles situations very well, he’s adept at working out what good score is and he has the mental strength to dig in, make good scores and be not out at the end of the innings.
“We’ve seen a maturity in his batting that is quite rare and even when he was batting in a fairly hopeless situation in our semi-final against Durham he remained composed and scored 114 while others were falling around him.”
While Taylor’s credentials were firmly established when he arrived at Trent Bridge ahead of the 2012 season, Harry Gurney’s signing was rather more low key.
In the past three seasons however, Gurney has emerged from relative obscurity to become a leading light in the Nottinghamshire bowling attack earning seven One Day International appearances along the way.
“We were drawn to Harry because of his white ball bowling for Leicestershire and he has done extremely well to become a senior bowler for us in all formats,” said Newell.
“He has the skills to bowl under immense pressure during the powerplay overs and at the death there is a big incentive for him to play his way into the World Cup.”
Calls have grown for Alex Hales to be considered in all formats having shaken his tag as a T20 specialist with huge improvements in form throughout 2014. Hales began the season outside of Newell’s four-day thoughts and endured a brief loan spell at Worcestershire before returning to Trent Bridge to enjoy a fruitful season in all formats.
“There were glimpses in the India series that Alex belongs at this level,” said Newell.
“Batting in One Day Internationals means facing better bowlers in pressure situations and there’s no reason why he can’t cope with that and secure a place in the side.”
Alastair Cook will retain the captaincy of the One-Day side with Newell keen to challenge those who feel that England’s bid for World Cup success has no merit.
“We’re very much united behind Alastair and believe that he’s the right bloke to lead this team,” said Newell.
“We believe that the formula is there with explosive batting and skillful bowling in the right place and it’s up to the players to deliver the tactical plans.”