The English selectors have announced the national team for the Test series vs. India, Nick Compton and Joe Root have been included whereas Kevin Pietersen is omitted.
England will visit India to play four Tests against the hosts in the later part of this year and Alastair Cook will lead the side. The visitors will be without the services of their supreme ex-captain, Andrew Strauss, who has opted out of international cricket and their prominent middle order batsman, Kevin Pietersen, who has been sidelined due to some administrative reasons.
England has brought in a couple of youngsters, Joe Root and Nick Compton, to fill the gap created by the two flamboyant batsmen, Strauss and Pietersen. Below, we will highlight the career of the two youngsters who have been inducted in the side.
Joe Root
Joseph Edward Root was born on December 30, 1990, in Sheffield, Yorkshire, a right hand batsman and a right arm off break bowler. He has played for England Under-19s, England Lions, Yorkshire Under-17s, Yorkshire, Yorkshire Academy and Yorkshire 2nd XI.
The 21-year-old is a competent opening batsman and performed excellently on the domestic level as well as with the junior teams who visited New Zealand and Bangladesh. He represented Yorkshire in the County Championship Division Two, 2012, played 14 matches and smashed 738 runs at an average of 43.41runs, the best of unbeaten 222 with two hundreds and even half centuries. The right hand opener has played 36 First class matches, scored 2015 runs averaging 38.01, the best of unbeaten 222 runs with 4 centuries and 8 fifties.
Geoff Miller, the England national selector, was confident that Joe Root will be an asset for the future of national cricket. He said,
“Joe Root is a player who has been successful at every level from county cricket through to EPP and England Lions, and he deserves this opportunity to step up to the next level and press his case for a place in the Test side.”
Nick Compton
Nicholas Richard Denis Compton was born on June 26, 1983, in Durban, Natal, South Africa, a right hand batsman and an occasional right arm off break bowler. He has played for England Lions, Somerset, Mashonaland Eagles and Middlesex.
The 29-year-old is a promising top order batsman who belongs to the famous Compton cricketing family. He seems hungry for runs each time he goes into bat and has been knocking at the national level since long.
Nick Compton was the highest run getter for Somerset in the County Championship Division One, 2012. He played 11 matches for Somerset in the current season and amassed 1191 runs at an excellent average of 99.25, the best of unbeaten 204 with 4 hundreds and 7 fifties. The youngster took part in 96 First class matches, hammered 6254 runs averaging 44.35, the best of unbeaten 254 runs with 16 centuries and 27 fifties.
Geoff Miller praised the batting skills of Nick Crompton by commenting,
“Nick Compton has performed well consistently for Somerset in county cricket this season, made big hundreds and shown that he has the temperament and the technique to play at a higher level.”
Kevin Pietersen
The England and Wales Cricket Baord (ECB) was in constant touch with Kevin Pietersen before the final side was announced. The master batsman was omitted from the final Test against the visiting South Africa due to some disciplinary reasons and was unable to gain the confidence of the national selectors. The managing director of England cricket, Hugh Morris, commented on Pietersen issue as,
“Both ECB and England team management have had meetings with Kevin Pietersen to address the issues that led to his omission from the final Investec Test match against South Africa. Kevin has not been considered for selection for the India tour.”
Squad
Alastair Cook (capt) James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Nick Compton, Steven Finn, Graham Onions, Eoin Morgan, Monty Panesar, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott.
The first Test of the series will commence on Novebmer 15, 2012, at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad.
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