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England rest Stokes, Buttler for T20s

England's Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler will be rested for the Twenty20 series in the West Indies, with call-ups for Dawid Malan, Sam Billings and Chris Jordan.

England's Ben Stokes.
England's Ben Stokes has been stood down for the three T20 internationals against West Indies. (AAP)

Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler have been rested from England's Twenty20 series in the West Indies, with call-ups for Dawid Malan, Sam Billings and Chris Jordan at the request of head coach Trevor Bayliss.

Both players are expected to play key roles in the World Cup and Ashes double-header this year as well as heading to the Indian Premier League where they will be teaming up at Rajasthan Royals.

They will depart the Caribbean after the fifth ODI along with opener Jason Roy, who has been given leave to return for the birth of his first child.

Their absence makes room for batsmen Malan and Billings, as well as the Barbados-born short-form regular Jordan.

National selector Ed Smith stressed that Buttler's domestic deals were signed before his recall to the Test squad last year and must be respected.

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Consideration was also given to sending Test captain Joe Root back home early but he has grown frustrated after missing too many T20 assignments in the past and was eager to stay on to help build his skills.

"It was discussed, but ultimately he was really keen to play," said Smith.

Malan was dropped from the Test side last year in one of Smith's more ruthless acts but averages exactly 50 from his five previous T20 appearances.

England T20 squad v West Indies: E Morgan (capt), M Ali, J Bairstow, S Billings, T Curran, J Denly, A Hales, C Jordan, D Malan, L Plunkett, A Rashid, J Root, D Willey, M Wood.


2 min read

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Source: AAP


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