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England have selected a host of Twenty20 specialists for September’s World Championship in South Africa with Chris Schofield, Jeremy Snape, James Kirtley, Darren Maddy, Luke Wright and Vikram Solanki named in the 15-man squad. As expected, Andrew Flintoff also returns after recovering from ankle surgery and is also named in the NatWest Series squad to face India.

Schofield’s is the most notable selection, seven years after he made his Test debut against Zimbabwe and a little over a season since he was playing Minor Counties in a bid to keep his career alive. He was the joint-leading wicket-taker in this year’s tournament with 17 at 8.82.

Kirtley is given another crack at international cricket after showing himself as one of the best death bowlers on the county circuit. England have struggled to restrict sides at the end of innings and Kirtley’s pinpoint yorkers will be earmarked for that role.

His Sussex team-mate, allrounder Wright, tops the run-scoring table for this season’s Twenty20 Cup and hit a century off 45 balls during the competition. He will form a new-look top-order alongside Maddy, the leading run-maker in Twenty20 history, and Solanki who has had consistent success with Worcestershire.

Maddy’s former county captain, Jeremy Snape, moves from the backroom staff to the playing squad after making a dramatic impact with his varied offspin. His moon ball has become an effective weapon, while his tactical mind will be useful for Paul Collingwood as he continues to bed down as England’s limited-overs captain.

“Having reviewed the team’s performances in The NatWest Twenty20 matches against West Indies, the selectors felt it was necessary to include a number of players with greater experience of this format of the game in the squad to go to South Africa,” David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, said. “The tournament will be new ground for everyone and we feel that combining players with experience of one-day international cricket together with Twenty20 specialists will give us the best possible chance of success.”

The 50-over squad, named for the first four matches against India, is more predictable with Dimitri Mascarenhas, Monty Panesar and Alastair Cook retaining their places from the series against West Indies, but those three, along with Ian Bell and James Anderson, miss out on the South Africa trip.

Twenty20 squad Paul Collingwood (capt), Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Andrew Flintoff, James Kirtley, Darren Maddy, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior (wk), Chris Schofield, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Jeremy Snape, Vikram Solanki, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright

NatWest Series squad Paul Collingwood (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior (wk), Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Chris Tremlett.

Source:Cricket News