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| Friday, 6 September, 2002, 12:51 GMT 13:51 UK England call up Clarke ![]() Batting is Clarke's strongest suit at present Surrey all-rounder Rikki Clarke has been drafted into the England squad for the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka. Derbyshire skipper Dominic Cork and Middlesex batsman Owais Shah will also be on the plane, with the selectors forced to find replacements for Paul Collingwood, Michael Vaughan and Craig White. Clarke's call-up caps a tremendous first season at senior level for the 20-year-old, which led to him being named Young Cricketer of the Year by the Cricket Writers' Club. "He is a young player of enormous promise and this is a good opportunity for him to test himself at a higher level," said chairman of selectors David Graveney. England have now made five changes to the squad originally announced for the Champions Trophy. Somerset all-rounder Ian Blackwell has already been called up to replace Andy Flintoff, who has undergone hernia surgery, and James Kirtley will deputise for Darren Gough. Vaughan will miss the tournament because of a knee problem, White has a side strain which prevents him from bowling and Collingwood has a neck injury. For Cork and Shah, the tournament represents another chance to stake a claim for a place in the squad for next year's World Cup in South Africa. Cork has played 30 one-day internationals, while Shah made 57 against New Zealand at Dunedin in February in his ninth and last appearance. "Owais Shah was a member of the one-day squad last winter but only had limited opportunities to impress. "He has shown he can succeed in international cricket and the trip to Sri Lanka will give him a further chance to press his claims for a regular place in our one-day line-up. "Dominic Cork was called up into the one-day squad as cover for the NatWest Series Final and the selectors feel that his all-round qualities will be important in the conditions that we will face in Sri Lanka," Graveney added. England squad for the Champions Trophy: N Hussain (Essex, capt), ME Trescothick (Somerset), NV Knight (Warwickshire), AJ Stewart (Surrey, wkt), DG Cork (Derbyshire), RC Irani (Essex), AF Giles (Warwickshire), RJ Kirtley (Sussex), AR Caddick (Somerset), MJ Hoggard (Yorkshire), JN Snape (Gloucestershire), ID Blackwell (Somerset), R Clarke (Surrey), OA Shah (Middlesex). |
See also: 30 Aug 02 | England Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Cricket stories now: Links to more Cricket stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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