Pietersen Rested For New Zealand Limited-Overs Series

Pietersen Rested For New Zealand Limited-Overs Series

The England selectors have recognised the need to manage Kevin Pietersen's international workload.

©REUTERS/Adnan Abidi. Picture Supplied by Action Images

The England selectors have continued their rotation policy in selecting their squads for the limited-overs series against New Zealand in February. Kevin Pietersen is the main beneficiary and will sit out both the Twenty20 and One-Day International series, while Graeme Swann will miss the T20 series. Jonathan Trott and James Anderson return after being rested for the ODIs in India.

There are also two further changes to the T20 squad, with Stuart Broad returning from a heel injury to again captain the side and Steven Finn returning from his recent injury.

As well as the two senior squads, England have announced a 15-man England Lions squad for their tour of Australia. The big news from this is that Joe Root will captain for the first time and replaces long-term skipper James Taylor.

There are six players in the squad who have yet to be capped by the Lions, with Essex left-armer Reece Topley among a group which includes Yorkshire’s Zimbabwe-born batsman Gary Ballance and Essex wicket-keeper Ben Foakes. Varun Chopra, Toby Roland-Jones and Chris Wright have all been rewarded for the strong 2012 county seasons.

National Selector Geoff Miller said of the squads: "Following on from the ODI tour to India, the tour to New Zealand will require players to adapt to different conditions and will prove a real challenge for the squad as we look to continue the progress we have made in limited-overs cricket recently.

"There are a number of players who we have decided not to select for parts of the competitive programme this winter as we look to manage their workloads effectively while ensuring we remain competitive across all formats. We feel this is the best way of keeping players as physically and mentally fresh as possible during a demanding 2013 and beyond.

"Kevin Pietersen will miss the limited-overs tour of New Zealand with Graeme Swann missing the T20 leg of the tour. This approach also provides an opportunity for talented young players to gain more international experience which will be important for their development and the development of England sides in the future.

"The tour of Australia will provide a tough test for this Lions squad and it will present an opportunity for the players to show us that they are capable of representing England at ODI level in the future. The vast majority of these players were on the England Performance Programme (EPP) in India during the end of this year, so we are looking forward to seeing the skills they have developed put into practice during the tour in February 2013.

"Australia is the venue for the 2015 ICC World Cup, along with New Zealand, so we hope this will help us identify potential players that could go on to be a part of the 2015 World Cup squad."

In other England news, all-rounder Samit Patel has been awarded an incremental contract for 2012-13 after playing the required number of international matches during the current 12-month period.

T20I squad: Stuart Broad (captain), Jonny Bairstow, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Stuart Meaker, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, James Tredwell, Luke Wright.

ODI squad: Alastair Cook (captain), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott.

Lions squad: Joe Root (captain), Gary Ballance, Scott Borthwick, Danny Briggs, Varun Chopra, Matt Coles, Ben Foakes, Alex Hales, James Harris, Simon Kerrigan, Toby Roland-Jones, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Reece Topley, James Vince, Chris Wright.

© Cricket World 2012