World Cup favourites England reveal squad

England selectors have excluded T20 star Jofra Archer from their World Cup squad but made it clear their 15-man group could change at the conclusion of their upcoming ODI series against Pakistan.

Archer's potential selection has been a hotly-debated talking point ever since the Barbados-born paceman was deemed eligible for England selection following a rule change last November, but ultimately the 15-man World Cup squad is unchanged from the group that toured the Caribbean earlier this year.

England's preliminary 15-man World Cup squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood. 

Fellow speedster Chris Jordan is the other player to have missed out on World Cup selection while being included in the 17-man squad for the five-match Pakistan series, which runs from May 8-19.

"In line with ICC regulations, we have to name a preliminary squad of 15 for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup before April 23," said national selector Ed Smith.

"However, all 17 players named in the Royal London ODIs against Pakistan can stake a claim to be in the final 15-man squad, finalised at the end of that series.

"The selection panel has been impressed with Jofra Archer's performances in domestic and franchise cricket. He is a very talented and exciting cricketer.

"Chris Jordan, a regular in IT20 squads over the past few years, has continued to develop as a cricketer – as we saw in the IT20s in the West Indies. He fully deserves his return to the ODI squad."

World Cup quartet Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes have all been rested for the one-off ODI against Ireland on May 3, and the lone T20I against Pakistan on May 5.

"With regard to resting players, we are conscious of managing player workloads leading into such an important summer so that players are in the best possible condition for the World Cup," Smith added.

"That was also a factor in the way we have selected these three squads."

On Tuesday, paceman Chris Woakes told BBC Sport that England, the top-ranked one-day-international team, have become a close unit under captain Eoin Morgan as they prepared for the World Cup, and questioned the potential inclusion of Archer under the recent change in eligibility.

"It probably wouldn't be fair, morally, but at the same time it's the nature of international sport," Woakes said.

"If he was to come in and someone was to miss out, it would be extremely unfortunate.

"We've been a tight-knit group for the last two to three years, played some really strong cricket, won a lot of series.

"I wouldn't want to see any of my mates and teammates miss out."

2019 World Cup

Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

May 25: (warm-up) England v Australia, Southampton

May 27: (warm-up) Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton

June 1: Afghanistan v Australia, Bristol (D/N)

June 6: Australia v West Indies, Trent Bridge

June 9: India v Australia, The Oval

June 12: Australia v Pakistan, Taunton

June 15: Sri Lanka v Australia, The Oval

June 20: Australia v Bangladesh, Trent Bridge

June 25: England v Australia, Lord's

June 29: New Zealand v Australia, Lord's (D/N)

July 6: Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N)

July 9: Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford

July 11: Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston

July 14: Final, Lord's

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE