Swann To Captain England Against West Indies

Swann To Captain England Against West Indies

Graeme Swann will become Engalnd's fifth captain of the summer

©REUTERS/Philip Brown (BRITAIN - Tags: SPORT CRICKET) Picture Supplied by Action Images

Graeme Swann will captain England for the two-match Twenty20 International series against the West Indies later this month and become England's fith captain of the summer.

As regular Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad and vice-captain Eoin Morgan are both unavailable due to injuries the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have appointed Swann as the stand-in skipper.

Andrew Strauss (Tests) and Alastair Cook (One-Day Internationals) are the other men who have led England this summer.

The 14-man squad for the matches on 23rd and 25th September includes two players - Yorkshire's Jonathan Bairstow and Hampshire's Danny Briggs - who have yet to make their international debut.

Lancashire fast bowler James Anderson and Durham leg-spinner Scott Borthwick are added to the squad that defeated India by six wickets in England's last Twenty20 International.

"We have once again selected a blend of experienced international performers along with exciting young players with a great deal of talent," national selector Geoff Miller said.

"We have had a successful summer to date and will be looking to continue our form during the Twenty20 series against West Indies and finish the summer with two strong performances.
 
"We have selected ten of the players who were involved in last month's Twenty20 victory over India while the injuries to Stuart Broad and Eoin Morgan and the continued period of rest for Kevin Pietersen means we bring four players into the squad; James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Scott Borthwick and Danny Briggs.
 
"Graeme Swann is a highly respected member of the England side and his experience and leadership qualities will be invaluable when he leads a young England team next week- a role he is very much looking forward to."

Swann's only captaincy experience, however, is a pre-season 45-over match in 2004 when he led Northamptonshire to a 71-run win over Middlesex, scoring an unbeaten 14 and taking two wickets.

England T20I squad: Graeme Swann (captain), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter, Samit Patel, Ben Stokes

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