The wet dream for social media and meme pages has finally come true as Michael Pepper has been picked for England for the ODI squad for the West Indies series with Phil Salt being in the side. Salt and Pepper, who have played opposite each other many times for their respective sides Lancashire and Essex in the T20 Blast, will be playing together with Pepper earning a maiden England call-up.
Pepper has replaced Jos Buttler, who will miss the ODI series as he continues to recover from his calf injury that has kept him out of action since the T20 World Cup. Liam Livingstone will captain England in Buttler's absence.
"Liam Livingstone will step in as captain for the ODI series with the Lancashire all-rounder set to lead England for the first time. Uncapped Essex wicketkeeper-batter Michael Pepper has been added to the squad," an ECB statement said.
The three-match ODI series kicks off on October 31 with five T20Is set to commence on November 9. With the England schedule being jam-packed, none of the Test regulars will be able to play the ODIs with the third match against Pakistan ending on October 28. Still the ECB, however, has mentioned that a couple of players from the Test team will be added to the white-ball squad at a later date. The eight-match white-ball series will serve as a good preparation for England ahead of the India tour in January next year, followed by the Champions Trophy.
England squad for West Indies series: Jos Buttler (c) - T20 series only, Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jafer Chohan, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone (captain for ODIs), Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Michael Pepper, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner
** Two more players from the Pakistan Test squad will be added
