England calls up hard hitters Lumb, Kieswetter for World 20-20 Cup

London, Apr.1 (ANI): The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has called up Hampshire opening batsman Michael Lumb and Somerset wicketkeeper batsman Craig Kieswetter into final squad for next month's World Twenty20 Cup in the Caribbean.

The squad is as follows: P D Collingwood (Durham, captain), J M Anderson (Lancashire), R S Bopara (Essex), T T Bresnan (Yorkshire), S C J Broad (Nottinghamshire), C Kieswetter (Somerset), M J Lumb (Hampshire), E J G Morgan (Middlesex), K P Pietersen (Hampshire), A Shahzad (Yorkshire), R J Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), G P Swann (Nottinghamshire), J C Tredwell (Kent), L J Wright (Sussex), M H Yardy (Sussex).

According to the Daily Telegraph, there is no place for Matt Prior, who loses his wicket-keeping slot to Kieswetter. Prior has not been dropped for his keeping abilities, but because of his failure to score consistent runs in one-day cricket.

Prior struggles to score in the unconventional areas that Twenty20 demands but his Test record means he will remain England's No1 keeper in the longer form of the game.

Lumb is a hard-hitting aggressive opener who has been one of county cricket's most consistent performers in the Twenty20 Cup. He has also made an impression opening the batting for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, where he has had a taste of playing ion front of large crowds and under high-pressure situations.

"We believe we've picked a balanced squad that can meet the needs of the Twenty20 format - aggressive batting with variation and strength in depth and various bowling options that accommodate the conditions and surfaces in the West Indies," said Geoff Miller, the national selector.

"Our fielding, which is such a vital aspect of limited overs cricket, has improved markedly and there's no reason we can't perform well in what will be a challenging global tournament. On the recent tour of Bangladesh Craig Kieswetter showed what he is capable of in international limited overs cricket and, as a wicketkeeper at the top of the order, he gives us options down the order," Miller added.

"Michael Lumb has consistently performed well in limited overs cricket for Hampshire and has also impressed during his time in the IPL and with the England Lions. As a powerful left-hander Michael adds aggression to our batting and has the ability to compliment the rest of the line-up," Miller said. (ANI)