Cricket World Cup 2019: Ed Smith selects rich and diverse England squad to try and conquer the world

In 2007, the big decision was between Mal Loye and Ed Joyce. In 1999, it was between Vince Wells and Mark Alleyne for the final all-rounder’s slot. In 2015, it was all about whether Alastair Cook or Gary Ballance would accompany Ian Bell at the top of the order. Rejoice, then, that for once an England World Cup squad can boast an embarrassment of riches, rather than simply an embarrassment.

Lord’s glittered in the sunshine as the national selector Ed Smith announced the names of the 15 men to take on the world. As expected, the extraordinary Jofra Archer made the cut, just weeks after qualifying as an England player. So too the Hampshire duo of James Vince and Liam Dawson. But nobody ever won a World Cup without breaking a few hearts, and for David Willey and Joe Denly, the final cut was the cruellest of all.

“A very difficult decision,” said Smith on the selection upon which his reputation will be made. “We had more players we wanted to fit into the squad than we were allowed to. So it was a very tough call.”

In the case of Willey, who was picked in the provisional squad last month, it is an especially tough blow. Given his one-day international debut in the aftermath of England’s disastrous 2015 World Cup campaign, the Yorkshire left-armer was identified extremely early on in the cycle as a potential 2019 prospect. But in a team built on ruthless aggression, the numbers haven’t been stacking up for some time.

For a bowler picked on his ability to swing the new white Kookaburra and take wickets in the Powerplay, a haul of just five since the start of 2018 was evidence of a wider decline. Of fast bowlers to take 50 ODI wickets since the last World Cup, only Tim Southee has taken them at a higher average. Smith confirmed that Willey had taken his omission with disappointment but good grace.

“He deserves to be in the World Cup squad,” Smith said, “but that’s sport. Sometimes there are more deserving people than there are places in the squad. He’s an outstanding man. He’s very honest, very dignified, a very impressive cricketer. It is extremely unfortunate.” Willey’s own reaction on Twitter was equally diplomatic. “What can I say, I’m absolutely gutted,” he said. “Still 100 per cent behind the lads.”

Archer’s selection completes a remarkable few months in which he has become England’s probable first choice with the new ball after just three ODI appearances. His omission from the provisional 15-man squad named last month always bore the faint ring of formality to it: once he made the smooth transition to international cricket, having already proved his worth in the IPL and Big Bash, his place was virtually secure.

"I think I am ready," Archer said. "I know how to deal with pressure and crowds. I think international cricket is the same intensity as IPL. All that has changed is the amount of overs. It is a great team to be a part of, probably one of the better teams I have been involved in."

Denly’s omission bears the fingerprints of captain Eoin Morgan. Strongly championed by Smith, Denly has found his opportunities limited during his second spell in the England one-day side, almost a decade after his first. He faced just 21 balls in the recent series against Pakistan, and so minimally did Morgan rate his part-time leg-spin in the third ODI at Bristol that he gave him just a single over, which was clouted for nine runs.

Dawson, the Hampshire left-arm spinner, has long been admired by coach Trevor Bayliss, even though he has not played for England since the ODI tour of Sri Lanka last autumn. He has been in good form in this season’s Royal London One-Day Cup, taking 18 wickets with an economy of just 4.11, and scoring a century against Surrey.

The rest of the squad was as expected, with Vince the back-up batsman in the absence of the sacked Alex Hales, and Tom Curran and Liam Plunkett preferred as seam alternatives to the likely new-ball pairing of Chris Woakes and Archer. It is an attack that consists entirely of right-armers, and yet with the awkward Plunkett, the explosive Archer and the skiddy Mark Wood, it is not one that could be accused of sameness.

And so, here we are: the 15 men who are widely held to have England’s best chance of winning the World Cup in a generation. Seven play for counties in the South, six in the North, two in the Midlands. Eight were state-educated, seven privately-educated. Three are from black or ethnic minority backgrounds, which roughly correlates to the UK population as a whole.

They began life on four different continents, from Dublin to Cape Town, from Christchurch to Barbados. They were brought up in the frontierlands of Cumbria and Northumberland and the shires of Wiltshire and Somerset and the urban jungles of Birmingham and Middlesbrough and Bradford. Truly, these players are the best of us: a squad as rich and diverse as the islands they will be representing over the next two months.